Healing Visions
by LunaParvulus
Summary: Chapter 13 up! An accident caused Harry his vision. Dumbledore suggested Harry to stay with Snape; the Potions Master worked with Harry, helping the teen cope with his blindness. Draco was also staying with Snape, and then something between them was forme
1. Chapter 1: The Accident

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Sniff. **

A/N: Uh… Yea this is the idea I mentioned in my info. I should really stop coming up with ideas when I'm not even done with my other two stories that I'm currently working on. I'm going to overload my brain and then it's going to burst! Dx But anyway, I'll just see how this story goes.

**Yes I know there are many stories with Harry being blind, deaf, etc. But it's MY first time writing it, so it might be a _bit_ different. Besides, I'm putting Voldie in this one. Now, that's a first for me xD Better summary in my info.**

**Chapter 1: The Accident (Prologue)**

The smell of disinfectants, potions, and fresh bandages lingered around in the air. That was the first thing Harry noticed when he stirred, awakening from what he thought was a long, dreamless sleep. The smell of the antiseptic actually made Harry's nose stung; his nose twitched and held back a sneeze. Harry never liked the scents that were always present in the medical wing of Hogwarts…

'_Wait… Why do I smell fresh bandages…?'_

Harry's whole body jolted in bed; he tried opening his eyes, which took much effort. It felt like his eyelids were swollen, glued shut for days, or maybe they were stitched closed for whatever reasons Harry knew not. Small twinges of pain occurred as the green eyed teen tried to pry them open.

And then, all Harry saw was darkness.

Panicking, the Gryffindor closed his eyes again and opened them, this time it didn't hurt as much, but still felt awfully heavy. But still, black was all Harry saw. No light of any kind, whether it be sunlight or the soft glows of the bedside lamps, made their way through Harry's eyelids. Even if all the curtains in the infirmary were drawn or if it was nighttime, Madame Pomfrey would have turned on the small lamps that were beside each bed. Harry had been to the hospital wing enough times during his school years to know.

Harry whimpered pathetically; most likely there weren't any people around him, Harry thought, it was too quiet. Harry slowly reached up to feel his face while his fingers danced across his cheekbones. Harry relaxed a little when his skin felt unmarred and seemed perfectly normal to his touch. Then, his fingers inched upward to his eyes; Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. His upper face was wrapped with gauze. Harry's fingertips pressed down near his eye sockets where his eyeballs _should_ be. Harry almost cried with joy when he touched the round orbs underneath the bandage.

'_I still have my eyes…'_ Harry thought, his breathing was at a normal rate again, '_They're just covered up… Thank Merlin.'_

The moment that thought sank in, Harry touched his eyes again. Scenes played in his head; everything that had happened before Harry blacked out after he was hit with metal pieces when a Ravenclaw's cauldron exploded in Snape's class. That was how he landed in the infirmary in the first place…

* * *

_Harry was stirring the bubbling green liquid in his cauldron. It was a Tuesday, which meant Double Potions, Advance Level, with Snape. This would be his last year, seeing how Harry was a seventh year, taking this dreadful class. Harry had thanked every deity he could think of that he would no longer be in Snape's presence._

_As Harry continued with his stirring, he looked to his left and found a very nervous Ravenclaw, chopping up some mandrake roots. Somehow, the Gryffindors were in the same class as the Ravenclaws this year. In previous years, they were always with Slytherins. It was a nice change actually. _

_Harry stopped stirring his potion and let the ladle sit in the cauldron. He looked around the room and made sure Snape was nowhere near him; the Potions Master was sitting in his desk, grading some papers. Harry walked over to the girl, named Ashley White, and patted her shoulder._

"_Hey Ashley, how's your potion going?"_

_Ashley gasped and almost dropped the chopping knife when Harry touched her. Hazel eyes turned to look at Harry and she offered him a small smile._

"_Oh sorry Harry, I was so engrossed in chopping I didn't see you near me," Ashley said softly; she gazed up nervously to see if Professor Snape was around, "I don't know why I'm in this class really… Potions isn't my thing."_

_Harry pulled out a stool and sat down, "I don't really like Potions either and I'm quite surprised Snape actually let me be in this class this year." Harry chuckled and picked up a piece of chopped mandrake root, "He hates me, takes points from Gryffindor just because I breathe in his class."_

"_I know what you mean," Ashley said; she put down her knife and sat down on a stool next to Harry, "He always seem to pick on Gryffindors, although he takes points from us as well but not as much. And Professor Snape actually gave us Ravenclaws some points!" Ashley then frowned at Harry, took a strand of her dark brown hair and twirled it between her fingers, "I don't think he ever gave Gryffindors any points, not even when Hermione answered his questions correctly."_

_Harry snorted and glanced at Snape; the man still had his head down, "Snape loathes us. You should see how he treats his snakes!"_

"_Slytherins?" Ashley asked; she picked up her knife again and was carelessly chopping the roots in uneven chunks, "I heard how he always award points to them." Ashley shrugged and threw the pieces of the root into her steaming cauldron._

_Harry wasn't paying any attention to the girl next to him; he was watching Snape walking around in the front of the room, yelling at students at their poor attempts on making the potion. He didn't even notice the way Ashley's cauldron was making weird noises and was rattling on the table._

"_Good thing this class is going to end soon," Ashley whispered; her back was facing the moving cauldron and seemed to not hear the noises coming from her potion._

_Harry, on the other hand, had now turned to look at the Ravenclaw once more. His eyes widened as he saw how badly the girl's cauldron was jumping on the table. It hissed, puffs of white smoke came up, and it was rattling so badly, it looked like it was going to explode…_

_And that's exactly what it did._

_The cauldron blew up. Bits of the black metal flew at both Harry and Ashley. The green eyed teen, before he shoved Ashley off her chair, caught fleeting glimpses of his classmates scurrying away from his table. Ashley cried out as she hit the floor and scrambled away. Harry heard Snape's angry cries before he also ducked down._

_But not quickly enough._

_A huge piece of the cauldron flew at Harry's face, hitting directly at his eyes. Harry screamed in pain as he felt pieces of the metal and glass cutting the area around his eyes; he even felt some pieces penetrating his eyeballs. He hit the ground just as Snape reached his side. But by then, it was already too late…_

* * *

"Oh Merlin… no… no," Harry moaned; his hands were now covering the top part of his face, "It can't be…" Harry sobbed and clawed at his bandages, "NO! It didn't! I'm not… I'm--"

His tears stung him; Harry continued to moan. The curtains surrounding his bed were pulled away as Madam Pomfrey made her way to Harry, who was clearly in a state of distress.

"Harry dear, are you in pain?" Pomfrey asked; she took out her wand and waved it over Harry's face.

"Madam Pomfrey…?" Harry whispered; he lowered his hands from his face and turned his head in the direction where he heard her voice, "What happened to me? I can't see! It hurts to open my eyes!"

Madam Pomfrey tucked her wand back into her apron and took out a vial. She placed the small bottle at Harry's lips.

"Drink it Harry, it'll help."

Harry didn't say a word and pushed himself up; the medi-witch helped the teen by placing one arm around Harry's waist. Harry opened his mouth and Pomfrey tipped the bottle, letting the blue liquid inside go inside Harry's mouth.

"What was that?" Harry asked; Pomfrey had handed him a glass of water and he was now taking huge gulps from it.

"A Calming Draught," the medi-witch answered; she placed a pillow behind Harry's back and let the teen lean against it, "You were on the verge of hyperventilating."

"Sorry…" Harry mumbled; his left hand went to his face and touched the bandages around his eyes lightly, "What happened to my eyes Madam Pomfrey?"

Harry turned his face to the medi-witch; Pomfrey frowned at the boy sitting on the bed.

"Professor Snape brought you in yesterday," Poppy started, "He came in here yelling for me. I came out from my office and saw you in his arms, unconscious."

"I-I had my Potions class yesterday…" Harry held back his tears; crying made his eyes hurt, "The girl working next to me did something to her potion and her cauldron exploded." Harry bent his head; even if he couldn't see the nurse, Harry didn't want her to see the pain etched on his face. "I pushed her to the ground, but I wasn't quick enough. A piece flew at my eyes and I think my glasses shattered at the contact." Harry took a deep breath; Poppy patted his shoulder, "I felt tremendous pain in my eyes before I blacked out."

"Yes, when you were brought in yesterday, there were cuts around both of your eyes," the medi-witch told the teen, "I did all the diagnostics and treated some minor cuts on your face. But your eyes were a different story."

"How badly hurt are they?" Harry gulped; he dreaded the answer, but needed to know.

"Not only were the areas around your eyes injured, I removed pieces of glass from both of your eyeballs," Poppy paused; Harry took in a shaky breath and nodded for the nurse to go on, "I'm afraid once the wounds are healed, the lens, irises, and corneas would scar over."

"Does that mean… I-I won't be able to see anymore?" Harry forced out; he couldn't stop his tears anymore. Even with the bandages, they still managed to fall down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Harry… I did all I could, no spells can help remove the scar tissues. They might actually make matters worse."

Harry shakily brought his hands up to the front of his face. He moved his head down until he came in contact with his sweaty palms. Harry cried; he no longer cared that the medi-witch was still standing there, looking distraught.

He couldn't see her anyway.

"… I'm blind."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Lol! Well what do you think? I didn't even put up a small summary this time; just threw in the first chapter and BLAM! Tell me if this story should be continued or not xD Thanks :)


	2. Chapter 2: The Aftermath

**Disclaimer: Yea yea… you know what goes here. **

A/N: W00t! Poor Harry… how is he going to cope with his blindness? We shall find out.

**Time setting for this story would be at the end of Harry's seventh year. Like I said, it would ignore HBP; Dumbles is still alive. Voldemort is still… here. D:**

Thank you for all the great reviews :D

**Chapter 2: The Aftermath**

Harry Potter was lying, face up, on the hospital bed. His hands were folded on top of his stomach; his previously seeing eyes were staring blankly up at the ceiling. It didn't matter anyway; Harry will never see anything ever again.

Madame Pomfrey had taken his bandages off this morning. She prodded the area around Harry's eyes, moved her wand directly in front so that she could see if Harry's eyeballs were healing. Pomfrey had told the Gryffindor that she will point her wand, with a very brightly lighted tip, at his eyes. Harry had snapped at the nurse, telling her that it wouldn't matter. Poppy, instead, reprimanded Harry he was being very rude, very childish, and shouldn't be all moody just because he had lost his eyesight.

"_It's not the end of the world," _she had told Harry_, "You will just have to learn everything all over again Mr. Potter," _she then pushed Harry back down on the bed,_ "Once you are use to your disability, you'll just be like any other person."_

Harry had stayed silent and heard Madame Pomfrey walking away from his bed, and then she slid the curtains back into place so that he wouldn't be disturbed by other students in the infirmary. Harry stayed on the bed, not moving, for the rest of the morning. When Poppy came back again with his tray of lunch, Harry shifted slightly and turned his head to his right, where Poppy had set down the tray. The smell of a freshly baked Shepard's pie wafted to his nose. His mouth watered; Harry hadn't eaten anything solid since the accident. The Gryffindor was about to speak when his stomach spoke for him. Madame Pomfrey chuckled and helped Harry to a sitting position. Harry then put his legs over the edge of the bed and sat facing the small table that was next to his bed. The medi-witch pushed the table closer to her patient and picked up a fork. She gently guided Harry's right hand above the fork. Harry grasped the utensil tightly in his hand and waited for more instructions.

"Well, the pie is directly in front of you, a glass of pumpkin juice is sitting at 11 o' clock position, an apple is at one o' clock," Poppy told Harry, "Napkin is on the left side of the plate Harry."

Harry nodded and slowly moved his hand to the pie. He felt the tip of his fork pressing into something soft and Harry speared it. He brought the fork to his mouth; Harry could smell the scent of lamb and blew softly to make the meat not so hot. Harry ate the forkful and went back for more. Pomfrey nodded at the boy, a soft smile etched on her face.

"Call me when you are finished alright?"

"Thanks Madame Pomfrey," Harry said; he jabbed his fork into the pie and got a piece of the crust, "For bringing lunch for me."

"You're welcome dear," the nurse replied; she pulled the curtains apart and left Harry alone with his pie.

As Harry ate another forkful of mashed potatoes, his left arm reached out for the glass of pumpkin juice. He inched his hand slowly forward, not too fast or he might knock the glass over. When his fingertips felt the coolness of the glass, Harry wrapped his fingers around the cup and brought it to him. As he took in gulps of the sweet drink, Harry realized two things. One, his senses, besides his eyesight, were much more sensitive than before. Second, he found himself slowly accepting his fate. Nothing can change what had happened. Just like Madame Pomfrey had said, it was not the end of the world. Harry would learn everything again, and with time, he will be normal once more.

* * *

It was nighttime; that's what Madame Pomfrey told him anyway when she came and gave him his dinner. After Harry had finished with his lunch earlier that afternoon, he spent the day sitting in bed, doing absolutely nothing. At first, Harry felt frustrated with himself. Without his eyesight, he couldn't do a thing. Not even going to the bathroom without the help from Madame Pomfrey. Harry was reluctant to call out to the nurse, but when his bladder felt as if it was about to explode, Harry couldn't wait any longer. When he finished his business, Poppy had been standing outside the door. She took his arm and guided him back to the bed. Harry had told the kind nurse that he wanted to know where his bed was from the bathroom so that in the future he can go by himself. After walking back and forth a couple of times between his bed and the bathroom, Harry got it down. 

Now, he had finished his dinner, a plate of pasta with cream of mushroom sauce, a piece of garlic bread, and ice cream for dessert. The medi-witch came and gave Harry a check up before she took his dirty plates away. The Gryffindor was sitting contently, his hands folded on top of his slightly bulging stomach, when he heard the curtains around his bed being pulled open. Harry caught a whiff of fresh roses and knew who the person was.

"Hermione?" Harry queried; his head was turned to face his visitor, a smile on his face.

Hermione took a chair that was by Harry's bed and sat down on it. She leaned closer and took Harry's hand in her own.

"How'd you know it was me Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyes were trained on Harry's non-seeing ones, "And how are you doing?"

"I know it's you because of your shampoo. My senses are sharper now since… since I lost my eyesight." Harry whispered, "And I'm doing pretty well. Haven't knocked anything over yet." Harry turned his eyes away from the bushy haired girl.

Hermione smiled at that comment, but then almost immediately, her face fell, knowing Harry couldn't see her. She removed her hand from Harry's and reached up to fix his always messy mop of hair. Hermione saw Harry as her brother and right now he needed support more than ever.

"Your eyes look normal from the outside… I just can't believe… you can't see with them." Hermione choked out, "Is there any way for you to get your vision back?"

Harry shook his head slowly, "Madame Pomfrey told me no spells can get rid of the scar tissues. Spells might actually make matters worse."

Hermione nodded silently; Harry cocked his head to the side, question written all over his face.

"Hermione?"

She snapped her head up, "Oh I'm sorry… It's going to take awhile for me to remember you can't… see anymore."

"It's alright, I'm still getting use to it," Harry said softly; he forced a smile upon his face.

Hermione looked on sadly at her best friend. Harry just seemed so… downtrodden.

"I talked to Madame Pomfrey earlier," Hermione said suddenly, wanting to change the topic, "she said you can leave the infirmary tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, Madame Pomfrey said my eyes are healing nicely, even the insides are healing, and of course there are scars… I just have to apply this salve to keep infections away," Harry's lips then curved into a small smile, "I hope I don't make a mess when I put the salve on, and hopefully it's clear and not some awful color."

Hermione chuckled softly; she was inwardly glad Harry was making jokes. Maybe not all hope was lost.

"Well I have to head back now, visiting hours are almost over." Hermione told her friend, "Ron's in the boys' dormitory, clearing things up for you. Dumbledore came by yesterday and said you will stay there like you normally do."

Harry nodded at his friend to show he understood, "I wouldn't have it any other way," Harry sent Hermione a grin, "I'm glad Dumbledore's not treating me like some invalid."

Hermione gave Harry's hand a reassuring squeeze before she stood up from her chair.

"Ron and I will come again tomorrow morning and help you settle in after breakfast. Ron need to tell you where things are. The boys moved the beds or whatever around so it would be easier for you and that you wouldn't bump into things. I think you're still going to classes, since it's the end of the year and all, there's not much to do."

"You know… It's a good thing all the exams are over with," Harry said suddenly, stopping Hermione from leaving, "I would've failed everything since I can't read, and I definitely can't read Braille yet." Harry said bitterly.

"Harry you'll learn, just like the people that had to cope with blindness," Hermione chided, "Stop brooding and think you're the only one that's suffering."

"It's going to take me years to learn how to read those damn little dots!" Harry spat, his anger bubbling out of control. Days of repressing it, and now it was at its limit. "I wasn't always blind you know! I've had seventeen years of my life actually _seeing_ things!"

"Harry Potter!" Hermione cried, her hands on her hips, expression on her face, fierce, "There are some that wasn't always blind. What do you think they did? Those people had to learn from scratch just like you!" Hermione took a deep breath, her hands left her hips. Harry was now somewhat calm and looked utterly defeated.

"You're not alone in this Harry," Hermione whispered, her own annoyance subsiding, "We're going to be here to help you along the way. Don't you ever think you're alone Harry."

Harry sighed and nodded, "I'm sorry I snapped… I-I'm still in shock. One moment we're in Potions, and the next I can't see anymore."

Hermione moved forward and bent down to lay a kiss on top of Harry's head.

"You don't have to apologize. I know all of this is really hard for you… but you'll be fine."

She plumped up Harry's pillow and guided the teen down. Harry tugged at the blanket and pulled it up to his chin. He turned his slightly blood-shot eyes, due to the wounds and scarring, at Hermione. Even though Harry could not see her face, he felt it, in his heart, that she was smiling warmly down at him.

"Sleep Harry," Hermione said softly; Harry closed his eyes and knew he was right, "I'm coming early in the morning to get you. I've already told Madame Pomfrey about it and she approved."

Harry didn't answer, instead he gave a huge yawn. Hermione patted his shoulder one last time before she turned and left.

That night was the only time Harry had a peaceful night of sleep.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey pulled open the curtains and found one Harry Potter, lying on his stomach, snoring loudly. She shook her head with a smile and pulled the blanket away, which was already twisted around Harry's legs. The teen scrunched up his face but continued to sleep. 

"Harry?" Madame Pomfrey asked, shaking his shoulders, "Harry… Mr. Potter, wake up this instant!"

"No… Five more minutes…" Harry mumbled; he reached up and scratched the side of his face before he started snoring again.

The medi-witch clucked her tongue, "Your friends are coming in five minutes! So you better wake up, get ready, and leave the bed before breakfast."

Harry groaned and opened his eyes; he rubbed them with the back of his hand and winced. His eyelids still felt sore.

"Don't touch your eyes too much Harry, you might get them irritated," The nurse informed, "I'll give you the salve when you're ready to go."

Harry rolled onto his back and then sat up slowly. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stuffed his feet into his slippers. Madame Pomfrey held his arm until Harry was steady enough to walk. He carefully made his way to the bathroom where he freshened up. The green eyed teen then reached up and tried to flatten his hair down. After removing his hands away, Harry sighed as he felt his hair flopping back in ten different directions. When he was at the bedside, Madame Pomfrey told him that his uniform was laid out on the bed. She pulled the curtains close and left Harry to his dressing.

It was excruciating.

First, Harry took off the hospital gown. It was easy enough since it was just a once piece dress-like shirt. He untied the knot in the back and peeled the gown off. Harry groped around the bed until he found his trousers. Carefully balancing on one foot, Harry slipped one leg down and then the other; he fastened the buttons and looped the belt around with no problems.

The dress shirt was another story.

Harry slipped both of his arms through the sleeves and then his fingers fumbled with the tiny buttons that lined his shirt. At his first attempt, he buttoned them into the wrong holes, which made his shirt buttoned unevenly. With a growl, Harry unbuttoned all of them and tried again. He leveled his collar then felt around for the topmost button with the corresponding buttonhole. Once the first one went in, the leftovers went without a hitch.

"Alright, you dressed without anybody helping," Harry told himself, smoothing out any wrinkles that were on this shirt, "That's great progress for you."

Next, was his Gryffindor tie. Even when Harry had his eyesight, he never managed to make his tie go on correctly. Seven years and his tie was always lopsided underneath his robes. Now, without being able to see, the task seemed much harder. Harry held his tie in a death grip then threw it around, under the shirt collar. The tip of his tongue poked out as he tried his hardest to make a nice knot. After he got the knot down, the tightened it and touched his tie.

It was lopsided.

"Nobody is going to see it anyway," Harry muttered, picking up his robe and threw it on.

Harry sat down on the bed and used his feet to feel for his shoes. He put them on and waited for his two friends to come and get him. Harry was just humming to himself when he heard two angry voices at the other side of the curtains.

"I don't care what you say Hermione, I'm going to be around Harry at all times!" Ron whispered harshly; Hermione scoffed. "What if he trips on something and we're not around?"

"That is exactly what Harry doesn't want us to do!" Hermione said exasperatedly, "He doesn't want us mothering him. He can do this on his own Ron. Harry has to do things himself and not have us around all the time."

"Well, I'll be there when he needs it," Ron said just as he pulled the curtains open; his eyes widened when he saw Harry sitting there, dressed and waiting. "Harry! How are you mate? And… Er I guess you heard us?"

"Hey Ron," Harry turned to face his friend; he chuckled softly. Somehow he could see Ron red in the face in his mind, "I heard you guys, unless I'm deaf." He stood up and Ron immediately grabbed Harry's arm. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's protectiveness.

"Hermione's right you know," Harry smiled, "You two have to let me do things on my own. There are times in life when you can't help me."

"It's just that… I…" Ron stumbled; Harry patted Ron's hand.

"I know both of you care about me," Harry said softly, "But I'll be alright. Okay Ron?"

"Yea… alright." Ron's blue eyes searched Harry's face to find any traces of Harry lying to him, but Ron found none.

"Good, shall we head down for breakfast then?" Harry asked cheerily, "I'm awfully hungry."

Ron's ears perked up at the mention of food, "Yea let's head down, I'm starving! Come on!" the redhead tugged at Harry's arms.

"Wait Ron," Harry laughed; the three of them had pushed pass the curtain and were walking to the doors of the exit. "I still need to get my salve from Madame Pomfrey."

"Oh goodness I almost forgot!" Hermione cried out; Harry's ears picked up the sound of fumbling, "I got the salve for you Harry." Hermione took Harry's right hand and placed a small jar in his palm. "Madame Pomfrey said you need to apply the salve at least three times a day. Reapply everytime you wash your face and after your shower." Hermione reached up and pressed a cool fingertip under Harry's eyes, "You just have to put it all around the perimeter of your eyes and just leave it on. Don't touch your eyes too often."

"Thanks 'Mione," Harry said, putting the jar into his pocket, "I guess we can now satisfy Ron's never ending stomach.'

"Hey! You were hungry too!"

Hermione giggled behind the boys and followed them out of the infirmary, listening to them arguing about who eats more. As she watched Harry laughing and smiling with Ron, Hermione just knew that Harry will heal, seeing once again.

How long it would take only Harry can tell.

* * *

"You want me to do what Albus?!" Severus cried, his hands gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, "Surely you are joking…" 

"I am not Severus," Dumbledore replied, his blue eyes twinkling merrily, "I can't think of anybody else better than you."

"Is it really necessary for me to do it?" Severus asked tiredly; the Potions Master knew it would be fruitless to argue with the old wizard, "There aren't any other ways…?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his wingback chair, "Now go Severus, your class is starting soon. We'll discuss more later."

Grumbling, Snape pushed himself off the chair, "I'll bring him here after class Albus."

"Yes, you do that."

Nodding at the Headmaster, Severus turned around and left the office. Dumbledore reached for a lemon drop and popped it into his mouth.

"I think everything will turn out nicely."

* * *

A/N: Yay! Another update! Next chapter I will reveal what Albus proposed. Of course you can already guess since I mentioned it in my summary lol. Please Review! Thanks :D 


	3. Chapter 3: The Proposal

**Disclaimer: I have all the hardcover Harry Potter books! I have posters! I have all the DVDs! I OWN them! –looks around- What? Oh. I don't own them they said. O-o**

A/N: Harry's going to flip once he was told that he's going to stay with Snape after he graduates. Remember, Voldie exists in this story! Muwahahahaha…

**Draco sees Harry for the first time after the Potions accident. He's got a dirty little secret ;D**

**Chapter 3: The Proposal**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all walked into the Great Hall, where students were already inside eating their breakfast. Ron took hold of Harry's arm and guided the green eyed teen towards the Gryffindor table. Chattering became hushes as Harry walked by the Slytherins. Harry felt their gazes on him as he passed by them. The quietness and the weight of the silence suffocated him. Harry quickened his pace and was actually dragging Ron to the table. The redhead turned back to look at Hermione with surprise written on his face. Hermione scowled and jerked her head at the Slytherin table. Ron turned his head at the snakes as he and Harry walked by. Some were pointing, some whispering with concerned looks, while others were just sneering at them.

"Come on Ron, don't pay them any mind," Harry whispered, "Let them say whatever, I could care less."

"Alright…" Ron grounded out and continued walking.

As they neared the Gryffindor table, a seventh year Slytherin, Charlotte Cheval, got off her seat and stood in front of Harry and Ron, blocking their path. She threw her long, brown hair behind her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips, sneering at the trio.

"Well well, what do we have here?" Charlotte smirked; Ron and Harry stopped while Hermione stood next to the redhead, "Is it true that Potter can't see anymore?" Some of the Slytherins laughed rudely as she said that.

"Move aside Cheval," Ron growled; he snaked his hand into his robe and was about to take out his wand. Hermione stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"What would you do if I don't Weasley?" Charlotte spat, "Are you going to hex me in front of the teachers? I dare you to." Her teal eyes flashed with hatred.

Ron let go of Harry's arm and took a step toward the girl. Harry quickly grabbed his friend and pulled Ron back.

"Don't Ron," Harry said firmly, "You'll get expelled."

"That bitch was--"

"Let's go Ronald." Hermione gritted out; she took the redhead's arm and dragged him with her, Harry following closely behind.

Charlotte sneered and didn't move from their way. Ron snarled and shook Hermione off of him.

"Get. Out. Of. The. Way." Ron grounded out. Charlotte let out a cold, bitter laugh.

"Make me Weasley."

"Why you fuckin'--"

"Leave them alone and let them pass Cheval," a silky voice drawled somewhere from the table, "Sit your arse down and eat."

Harry's ears recognized the voice. Even though he couldn't see who it was, only one person he knew had that voice.

Malfoy.

Harry turned his head in the direction where Draco's voice came from.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked hesitantly. The blond looked at the brunet and smirked, but dropped it when he remembered Harry couldn't see anymore.

"Just take Weasley and Granger and leave Potter," Malfoy said uncaringly, "Before Cheval and Weasley hex each other's arses off."

"Thanks Malfoy…" Harry mumbled and pulled Ron with him, who was still glaring daggers at Charlotte, "Come on Ron, let's go."

Ron snarled one last time at Cheval before he followed Harry and walked away from the Slytherins. Hermione turned back to look at Malfoy, only to find the blond looking back. He sneered at her and turned away; Hermione frowned at Draco and went after her friends.

Charlotte sat back down, and glared at the Slytherin Head Boy, "Why did you help them Malfoy? You should've just let me continue have my fun."

"Shut up Cheval and just leave them alone from now on," Draco snapped; he pushed his plate away and threw down his napkin. "They did nothing to you."

"They're Gryffindors," Cheval sneered, "And what's with you? You never liked them either."

"Just mind your own damn business Charlotte!" Draco growled; Charlotte shrugged and continued with her neglected breakfast. Draco looked at the side of Charlotte's head with distain before he turned away.

The blond let out a suffering sigh. He glanced over to where Harry and his other two friends sat, finally eating.

'_Who said I was helping the other two…?'_

Draco reached for his goblet and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. He peeked at Potter above the rim of his goblet. From what Draco saw, Harry didn't seem any different; the teen was laughing and joking around with the other Gryffindors. It was as if the accident never took place.

Draco smiled behind his cup.

* * *

"I wonder why Malfoy helped us…" Hermione murmured as she reached for some pancakes. She took a pitcher of pumpkin juice and poured Harry a cup, "He's the last person I expected to stop Cheval." 

Harry thanked the girl and drank from his goblet. His hand felt around for his fork. When his fingers touched the cool metal, Harry picked it up and began eating his hash browns.

"I was surprised too…" Harry mumbled through a mouthful of hash browns; Hermione clucked her tongue and Harry quickly swallowed, "Sorry. Anyways, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me when I heard his voice."

"I'm not thankful that Malfoy stopped me from hexing that bitch," Ron said darkly; he took his knife and fork and began sawing his sausage, "I hate to say this, but Cheval is worse than Malfoy, and that's saying something."

"Oh Ron, if you really hexed Cheval, you'll be expelled," Hermione chided, "We really don't need to cause a scene."

"She was the one that started it!" Ron cried out, bits of sausage flew out from his mouth.

"Ron, Hermione's right." Harry said and ate a forkful of eggs.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Ron mumbled; he grabbed a plate of ham, "Do you want some ham Harry?"

Harry shook his head, "I can get it myself Ron. Thanks."

The redhead shrugged and heaped two slices of ham onto his plate. Harry sighed and continued spearing his scrambled eggs. With his more acute hearing, the brunet picked up random conversations around the table. He heard Seamus and Dean arguing about who can drink more Firewhiskey; to Harry's left, he heard some fourth years talking about _him_. Harry rolled his non-seeing eyes lazily stabbed his sausage. As he bit into his smoky sausage, Harry caught a whiff of perfume that was not Hermione's. The scent got stronger and Harry smiled at the owner of the scent.

"Ginny, you finally woke up for breakfast." Harry grinned at Ron's little sister.

Ginny, who had just sat down and was about to ask about Harry's well being, was stunned. She blinked her blue eyes at Harry.

"How'd you know it was me?" Ginny queried; she reached for some pancakes and put two on her plate, "I didn't even say anything."

"I could smell your perfume," Harry smiled, "I recognized it was yours."

"Oh." Ginny muttered; she looked into Harry's emerald eyes and found that they were duller than before the accident. "So uhm… Hermione told me last night that Madame Pomfrey couldn't do anything with the scarring huh?" She sliced her pancake into small pieces and jabbed one onto her fork.

"Ginny!" Ron yelled at his sister, "Shut up." Ginny glared at her brother and stuffed the fork into her mouth.

Harry shook his head at Ron and turned his face at Ginny, "Nothing can be done about it. Pomfrey told me that spells might actually make my eyes worse."

"That sucks," Ginny pouted, "Your eyes don't seem as bright as before… Or is that just because they're still healing?"

"Well yes, they are healing…" Harry chuckled, "And I never knew that my eyes were bright."

"She notices everything about you," Ron scoffed; he then cried out in pain when Ginny kicked him from under the table.

"Ron you blabbermouth! Shut up!" Ginny snapped; she looked at Harry and found his green eyes trained on her, "I care about you Harry… I--"

Harry smiled sadly at the girl in front of him, "I know you care about me, but I told you last year it's not going to work out. Our relationship wouldn't work."

Hermione, who had been listening to the conversation the whole time, stole a glance at Ron. Ron looked back at her and shook his head. He understood that the relationship between Harry and his sister wouldn't last.

"I know that Harry," Ginny said tiredly, "I got over it. I know. But that doesn't stop me from worrying about you right? I guess… I see you as my surrogate brother. At the end of last year, I realized then that I _only_ love you as a brother."

"So you do understand," Harry said softly, "I also told you my preference."

"Yeah… I was shocked back then," Ginny shrugged, "But as long as you're happy, then I'm good."

"You knew that Harry preferred guys?" Hermione asked the youngest Weasley; Ginny nodded to Hermione's question.

"I was worried you might kill Harry for telling you," Ron mumbled; Harry punched Ron's arm lightly with great accuracy.

Ginny giggled, "No, I had a feeling that Harry fancied guys more than girls."

"Well, now that everything is cleared up, let's finish breakfast and then Ron can show me what changes were done to the dormitory. We still have an hour before Potions."

The other three agreed and continued their breakfast.

* * *

"Dean, Neville, and Seamus helped me moved the beds," Ron told Harry; he walked beside his friend as they went up the stairs to their dorms. 

"So… my bed's not near the window anymore?" Harry asked; he was counting how many steps there were in his head. There were twenty four in total.

"Nah, it's near the bathroom so that during the night when you have to go, you don't have to walk too much to get there," Ron answered; they reached the dorm and Ron opened the door, "You know how cluttered our room can be."

"Mmm… all the clothes and books," Harry grinned, "I tripped multiple times before…" Harry pointed at his eyes, "this happened."

Ron looked over at Hermione, who was standing on the other side of Harry, and exchanged worried looks. Hermione chewed her bottom lip and shook her bushy head at Ron. The redhead understood and didn't comment. They both dropped their wariness before Harry could question them.

"Come on Harry," Ron tugged at the brunet's arm, "I'll show you where your bed is now."

Harry nodded at the redhead and let Ron pull him around the room. Hermione leaned against the doorway and watched as Ron told Harry where everything was. Ron pointed out that the bathroom was now at the right of Harry's bed; the drawers and wardrobes were placed between Neville's bed and Harry's (Neville's bed was placed on the left of Harry's); and Harry's trunk was placed underneath his bed. Ron also assured the brunet that they cleaned up the floor so there were no books, clothes, or any other bulky things left on the ground. Hermione giggled and covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

"I must say Ronald, this is my first time seeing the boys' room so clean," Hermione pushed away from the doorway and sat on the bed next to Harry, who was smoothing his bed sheets.

"I have to thank the other three later," Harry murmured, "Let me find my book bag and we can leave for Potions." Harry bent down and waved his arms around to search for his book bag.

Ron, who promised himself that he would help Harry whenever the green eyed teen needed help, walked over to Harry and was about to grab Harry's book bag when Hermione stopped him. With a firm shake of her head, Ron sighed and let Harry find the bag on his own.

Harry had heard the rustling of trousers as Ron walked to him; his hearing was keener than before. He kept his head down and pretended to be searching for his bag. Harry knew Ron wanted to help him but he couldn't rely on his friends forever. Harry smiled secretly when the rustling stopped a few feet away from him.

'_Hermione must've stopped him; she understands.'_

After a few more waves, his hand came in contact with the bag strap. Harry picked up his book bag and heaved it onto his shoulder.

"Ron, don't worry, Hermione's going to accompany me to the dungeons," Harry smiled at the redhead.

Ron's eyes widened when Harry actually smiled at his direction. Then he remembered Harry said something about better hearing and whatnot.

"Erm… I'm not worried, I bet you can walk there yourself," Ron said; he scratched the back of his head. In truth, he was sort of nervous for leaving Harry's side for at least half of the day.

"Relax Ron, Harry will be fine," Hermione said; she stood up from Harry's bed and hooked her arm with the brunet's, "Let's go Harry, before Ron starts freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out!"

Harry and Hermione both chuckled; Ron huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"We'll see you at lunch Ron," Harry turned back and waved goodbye. Ron waved back but once he saw Hermione's glare, he stopped waving.

Harry couldn't see it.

"Oh yeah, I'll see you at lunch!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled Harry along with her, "We should get moving. Don't want to be late for Snape's class do we?"

"No, of course not!" Harry feigned shock; Hermione smacked Harry on the arm and both left the boys' dormitory.

Ron stood in the middle of the room, watching the door slowly closed. A small smile spread across his face and Ron went to get his book bag and got ready for History of Magic.

* * *

Harry and Hermione brisk walked all the way to the dungeons when they heard the clock chimed, indicating that it was nine o' clock. Hermione pushed the heavy black doors opened and ushered Harry inside before stepping in herself. Chattering inside the classroom died down as the Ravenclaws and fellow Gryffindors turned to look at the two teens. Harry heard whisperings started from the right side of the room. Soon the whole class was murmuring. 

"Can you find your seat Harry?" Hermione whispered, trying her best to ignore the whispers; she glanced up and found Snape glaring at them.

"Yeah I can--"

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger you're both five minutes late!" Snape snapped; the two Gryffindors stopped whispering to each other and looked straight at their Professor. In Harry's case, it was sort of a blank stare.

"Sorry Sir… Ron and I were showing Harry how the Gryffindor boys' dormitory was changed," Hermione explained.

"It was my fault Professor," Harry added, "Hermione had to walk slower because of my… condition." Harry said the last word in a whisper.

Snape sneered at them, "Take your seats; I'll let it go this time Potter. Don't expect me to be as lenient next time you are late."

Even though Harry could not see Snape's face, he saw the sneer in his head as his teacher spoke. The Potions Master's voice dripped with disdain. Hermione unhooked her arm from Harry and moved to her seat. Harry turned right, his arms in front of him, and slowly made his way to his table. A small hand grabbed him and helped him to his seat. Harry turned his attention to his helper; he smiled when he realized who it was.

"Ashley?" The person stiffened and then Harry heard a small sob, "Ashley are you alright?"

Ashley pulled out a stool and Harry sat down; her hand never left his.

"How can you still act like nothing happened?" Ashley whispered; Harry heard sadness and regret behind her voice, "I did this to you… and yet, you're still being nice to me."

Harry smiled wanly and dropped his book bag on the floor. He cocked his head to the side; Snape had started his lecture and wasn't near where he and Ashley sat. With his unoccupied hand, Harry laid it on top of Ashley's and patted it.

"It wasn't your fault," Harry said soothingly, "It was an honest accident. You didn't do it on purpose and I don't blame you." Harry then let out a small chuckle, "Hell, I blew up tons of potions and cauldrons. Slytherins and Gryffindors alike got hurt because of me."

"But none of them became blind!" Ashley sobbed; Harry frowned when he felt the girl shaking.

"Ashley, stop blaming yourself," Harry reached out and touched her cheek, "You probably didn't get much sleep because of the accident am I correct? You sound so tired."

"I've been super worried for the past two days," Ashley sniffed, "You probably saved my life Harry… And you took the hit instead."

"It was a natural reaction," Harry shrugged, "After I pushed you off the chair, I went for cover too, but I just wasn't quick enough and got hit."

"So how are your eyes?" Ashley murmured; she leaned closer and peered into the emerald orbs. She bit her lip when she saw the small cuts across his eyes.

Harry released his hold on the Ravenclaw's hand and touched the corner of his right eye. The area around it was still sore and tender to the touch. Harry dropped his hands and made a motion to smooth out his trousers.

"Madame Pomfrey said no spell can get rid of the scar tissues," Harry told her, "I lost my eyesight permanently."

Ashley gasped and covered her mouth and let out a trembling breath, "No… No you're lying…"

Harry shook his head slowly, "I'm not and I accepted this. Nothing can change what happened."

"I'm so sorry…" Ashley sounded she was on the verge of crying, "You don't deserve this… You're such a nice person Harry… I-"

Harry leaned forward and embraced the shaken girl, "Stop blaming yourself. You're alright, I'm alright. We're both still alive aren't we?"

The rustling of hair on cloth told Harry that Ashley nodded. He smiled warmly and pushed himself away from Ashley and brushed the girl's tears away.

"Now, we should really listen to Snape talking about brewing some… headache reliever or whatever," Harry spun on the stool until he was facing the front of the class; Ashley giggled quietly beside him.

"He's talking about Fever Reducer Harry."

Harry pouted and Ashley shook her head with a small smile and began to take notes.

* * *

Harry had just placed his essay on Snape's desk when the Professor cleared his throat. Severus had told Harry, after the lecture, that all he needed to do in class was to write an essay of all the properties of Belladonna and what potions needed that ingredient. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders and took out three pages of parchment and began writing. Forty minutes later, Harry turned in a three page essay to Snape. 

"Professor do you need something?" Harry asked, his head tilted to the side.

Severus walked around his desk and stood in front of Harry. He pinched the bridge of his nose before stooping and whispered in Harry's ear.

"Stay after class today Mr. Potter; I wish to speak to you privately." Harry nodded at his professor.

Snape stood up straight and turned on the balls of his feet when Harry reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Sir… I-I never quite thanked you for bringing me to the infirmary that day," Harry said uneasily, "So… Thanks."

Snape took Harry's hand and pried it off from his upper arm; he gently, but firmly, placed Harry's hand back at his side.

"You're welcome Potter. Come to my office after class. Alone."

"Yes Sir…" Harry said and walked back to his table.

Snape walked behind his desk and sat back down on his chair. He watched as Potter slowly and carefully made his way back to his lab table. The boy had his head down the whole time, as if he was avoiding people's stares, even though he couldn't see them. When Harry finally sat down, the boy supported his head with his right hand and just stared blankly ahead. Severus frowned at the empty look on Potter's face.

Half an hour later, Snape barked out at students and told them all to leave. Hermione shuffled her way over to Harry's table and waited patiently for the green eyed teen to finish putting his things away. Harry once again smelt the fresh scent of roses and smiled. He brought his head up and looked at where Hermione stood.

"You can go ahead 'Mione," Harry told the girl as he threw his quill inside his bag, "I have to stay behind and talk with Snape."

"You're not in trouble are you?" Hermione asked, concerned. Harry shook his head in the negative.

"No, he said just wanted to talk to me. I don't know about what though."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, but then relaxed. Snape wouldn't do anything to Harry; he was the one that had hurriedly brought Harry to the hospital wing. Even with the cold exterior, Hermione knew that deep down Professor Snape wasn't that cruel.

"Well, alright. I guess Professor Snape will give you a pass for being late to Charms," Hermione said after a few seconds of silence, "Tell me what happens okay?"

Harry chuckled at his concerned friend and nodded. He pushed playfully at Hermione to indicate that the girl should leave before she was late to Charms. Harry sighed and stayed seated until the last of the students were gone from the classroom. He heard the billowing of Snape's robes, smelled the scent of sandalwood, and then heard as Snape stopped right at his left side

"Stand Potter, I'll lead you to my private office," Snape drawled; Harry nodded and took his book bag with him and followed as the Potions Master led him to the office.

Once they were inside, Snape closed the door and pulled Harry to the fireplace.

"We're going to the Headmaster's office Potter," Snape told the teen, "He wants to speak with you."

Harry's eyes widened, "What does Dumbledore want? And are we Flooing to his office?" Harry gulped.

He hated the Floo.

"Yes Potter, we're Flooing to his office seeing how we can't Apparate ourselves there," Snape said boringly, "Grab a handful of powder and we shall leave."

Harry swallowed the lump in this throat. His hand shot out and came in contact with a pot. He dug his fingers into the grainy sand and grabbed what he knew was the Floo powder. Snape placed his hand at the small of Harry's back and pushed the teen into the fireplace. Harry frowned and threw down his fistful of powder.

"Dumbledore's office!"

With a 'whoosh', Harry was swallowed up by green flames and was gone.

* * *

Harry grumbled and hastily pushed himself off the ground. The one sole reason why he hated Flooing was because he never landed on his feet. 

Not even once.

Harry stood up and brushed his robes; a small chuckle sounded and caused Harry to look up. He felt Dumbledore's presence as the old wizard strode over to Harry.

"Harry, my boy, how are you?" Dumbledore asked and took Harry's hand.

"Fine, but I really hate the Floo…" Harry grumbled; they walked over to Dumbledore's desk and the older wizard pulled out a chair for Harry to sit on.

"Sit down Harry," Dumbledore instructed; Harry complied and made himself comfortable in the wingback chair. "Lemon Drop?" the Headmaster offered; Harry shook his head.

Another 'whoosh' and Severus stepped out from the fireplace gracefully. He walked briskly to Dumbledore's desk and sat down next to Harry.

"Headmaster, if you would, tell the boy what you proposed this morning," Snape bit out, "I have a class in fifteen minutes and Potter here should be in Charms."

"Yes, yes… I'll get to the point," Dumbledore said softly; Harry shifted in his chair and looked between Dumbledore and Snape.

"What happened? What proposal?" Harry shot out.

"Settle down and listen Potter, for once in your life." Snape snapped; Harry growled but quieted down.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and leaned forward, "I have a proposal to make Harry,"

Harry turned his attention to the elder wizard and nodded curtly.

"I have asked Severus here to take you for the summer after you graduated."

Harry jolted and shot up in his chair, "Why am I staying with Snape?!"

"You're staying with Professor Snape so that he can help you with your current condition," Dumbledore explained patiently. Harry let out a loud sigh and sat back down.

"My blindness you mean?" Harry spat, "What can Snape do for me? Torture me? Make fun of me?"

"Potter if you will just shut up and calm down!" Snape barked; Harry scowled.

"Severus will help you with reading Braille," Dumbledore told the agitated teen; Harry was about to retort when Dumbledore cut him off, "I know you're going to ask why Severus out of all people. Well, it's because he has a cousin that was blind and Severus had to learn Braille himself in order to teach his younger cousin. Severus knows what you're going through Harry for his cousin wasn't born blind. An accident cost Severus' cousin her eyesight."

"… Oh." Harry muttered; he had calmed down when Dumbledore was talking. Harry folded his hands on his legs and twirled his thumbs.

"How long did it take you to learn Braille Professor?" Harry asked, without looking up at the Potions Master.

"It took me a little over a year. But I had to learn extensively because I had to teach it back to my cousin. For you, it might not take as long. I will help you until you can read Braille without any troubles."

"I see…"

"Also Harry," Dumbledore started, "Severus will teach you how to battle with you wand."

"But I already know how!" Harry retorted; Snape scoffed next to him.

"I am going to train your senses Potter; your eyes cannot see for you anymore. You will have to rely on your sense of hearing more than ever. Your ears will become your eyes from now on. I'll teach you how to sense where a spell is coming from. You will have to concentrate on the air around you. Whenever someone casts a spell, if you concentrate enough, you can feel the rippling in the air, and then you will be able to tell where the curse is coming from and dodge it."

"I… I never tried that before," Harry said meekly.

"Then you will have to learn Potter, and I'm here to teach you." Snape sneered; Harry nodded mutely.

"Do you have any objections then my boy?" Dumbledore asked.

"No… No I don't. If I have to defeat Voldemort," Snape shuddered when Harry spoke the name, "I'll learn all of this. I'll train hard and kill that bastard." Harry turned in his chair and gave Snape a smile, "Thank you Professor."

"Not at all Potter," Snape said curtly; he turned to Dumbledore, "The next Death Eater meeting is next Tuesday, should I tell the Dark Lord what has happened to Potter?"

Harry didn't react for he already knew Snape was a spy for the Order. He knew since his fifth year.

"Voldemort would ask you about the things that are going on at Hogwarts wouldn't he?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes trained on Severus.

The Potions Master nodded, "He asks everytime and I have to tell him truthfully or he would know I'm not loyal to him."

"I know Severus… I think it is best you tell him… but say nothing on the matter that you are training Harry."

"I know Albus, I'll tell the Dark Lord during the meeting."

"Good…" Dumbledore murmured; he looked at Harry and smiled, "You can go now Harry, Severus will give you a pass for you to take to Flitwick."

Both dark haired wizards stood up from their chairs and Snape guided Harry back to the fireplace.

"Aww… Do we have to take the Floo back?" Harry whined; Severus clucked his tongue and threw some powder into the fire.

"Get in there Potter,"

Severus pushed Harry none too gently into the fireplace; Harry huffed and shouted 'Snape's office' and was gone. Before Severus stepped in, Dumbledore called from his desk.

"Take care of him Severus and teach him well."

"You know I will Albus, you don't have to worry." With a curt nod, Snape was gone.

* * *

A/N: A… long chapter? Okay! Now we know what they're doing! Next chapter, graduation, Harry going to Snape's house… yada yada yada :D Thanks for reading:) 


	4. Chapter 4: Old Adversary

**Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of this… But yea, they don't belong to me. Only the plot and my OCs :P **

A/N: Okay, I said graduation, but seeing how that's way too much stuff for one chapter, I'm separating. So it would be the next one where Harry moves in with Snape. Sorry guys! x-x

**I should totally be updating my Snarry, but an idea popped up and I had to do this story first. ;x**

School sucks. That's why my updates are so slow :(

**Chapter 4: Old Adversary**

The day of the accident happened in late May. It was now nearing mid-June, three weeks since Harry was devoid the aid of his eyes. There wasn't much happening for the seventh years--such as Harry--at Hogwarts. Exams were over with; classes were nothing but almost free time for the students. Even some Professors, such as Professor Flitwick, Sprout, and Trelawney, let their students do whatever they wanted.

Just as long they did not destroy the classroom and in Professor Sprout's case, the greenhouse.

In this particular warm June Saturday morning, Harry was lazily lying on his bed, lounging. He was waiting for Ron to come out from the bathroom. The redhead had spent at least thirty minutes in the showers, and Harry was getting impatient.

The seventh years had to gather in the Great Hall; they were to have their second graduation practice. All seventh year students will gather everyday until the day of the real ceremony. Harry had told Ron that he can get to the Great Hall by himself, but the redhead had insisted that he would walk by Harry's side, just in case anything happened.

"Ron did you drown in there?" Harry called out; he heard a clatter from inside the bathroom, "Even I shower faster than you! And I have this untamable mop of hair plus I can't see."

Harry smirked when he heard the bathroom door opened. The soft pattering of feet indicated that Ron was barefooted. The brunet pushed himself up from the bed and threw his legs over the edge. Harry cocked his head to the side and gave Ron a grin.

"Are you dressed?" Harry asked.

"I was brushing my hair when you yelled," Ron answered, "And yes, I'm dressed."

Ron gave his head one last pat with the towel and then threw the semi-wet towel at Harry's face. Harry screamed as the wet towel hit his face with a 'smack'. Ron chuckled and walked over to his bed; he bent down to retrieve his trainers and placed them on.

"Ready to go mate?" Ron asked; he walked over to the door and waited for Harry to come over.

"You know Hermione's going to kill you right?" Harry said cheekily, "We were supposed to go down fifteen minutes ago."

Ron groaned, "Aww… She's going to give us a lecture all the way down to the Great Hall!"

"Well it's your fault for taking so bloody long in the bath!" Harry grinned; he didn't mind Hermione's chastising, he was use to it. "Now let's get down there before we're twenty minutes late." Harry pushed off his bed and went over to Ron.

Ron opened the door and followed Harry out, "Why don't you walk in front of me and I'll hide behind you?"

"It won't work Ron; you're way too tall."

Ron groaned and both boys went down the stairs to the common room.

* * *

As Ron had predicted, Hermione yelled at both of them about being prompt. She chided Harry for not telling her that Ron was taking a shower. Harry blushed and apologized to the agitated girl. Ron was apologizing profusely; he never liked Hermione yelling at him. With one last huff, Hermione and the other two walked into the Great Hall. 

The buzz of activity was apparent. Students from all four houses were gathered there. The Heads of House were telling their own students what to do and where to sit. Hermione flapped her hand at Harry and Ron and told them to follow her. They stood with the other Gryffindors and waited for Professor McGonagall to give them their instructions. The Head of Gryffindor walked briskly to the large group of Gryffindors; she stood in the middle of the crowd and looked at each of them with narrowed eyes.

"I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior," McGonagall said, "We cannot afford any misbehaving." She nodded at the group, "Do you all understand?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall." The Gryffindors chorused.

"Good. Follow me," McGonagall said; she pivoted and the group of students followed her to the far left side of the Great Hall.

"These chairs will be set up the same way on the day of the ceremony." The witch explained, "The Slytherins will be sitting to our right," she waved her arm at the rows of chairs to the right, "And you will be the first ones to be called up to receive your diplomas. Understand?"

All the Gryffindors nodded.

"Now, when everybody has settled into their chairs, the practice will begin." McGonagall looked at her group of Gryffindors until she spotted Harry, "Mr. Potter can you come with me please?"

The group of Gryffindors parted as Harry made his way to his Transfiguration professor. As usual, his arm was lifted in front of him so that he can 'see' what was in front. McGonagall smiled gently and reached out to take Potter's hand. Both professor and student walked until they were at the first row of chairs for the Gryffindors.

"Mr. Potter, your seat will be the very first one in the front row, near the aisle," McGonagall told the teen, "On the back of the chair, your initials are carved. That way, you can find your chair during practice and on the real ceremony. Since we didn't do the seating yesterday, I just want you to know."

Harry nodded, "Professor, how many rows are behind mine?" Harry asked the Transfiguration teacher, "I can count the rows so I wouldn't walk past my chair or something stupid."

McGonagall chuckled, "There are eight rows behind yours Harry. Since you are going to walk up from the back, just count eight and your chair should come right after."

"Oh, okay. Thanks Professor." Harry tilted his head up and smiled at Minerva.

"Go walk back to the group Harry, we'll be starting soon. Do you remember what we did yesterday?"

"Yup, I'll just go back now." Harry waved at his professor and slowly made his way back to the Gryffindors.

The lions were situated right next to the Slytherins. When McGonagall gave the signal all the Gryffindors lined up in a single line in alphabetical order by their last names. Snape then also ordered his snakes to form a single line.

Harry was behind a girl named Lucy Martel. On their first day of practice, Harry took note of the fragrance Lucy gave off, which was a sweet, lavender scent. When Harry asked her what gave off that smell, Lucy nicely told him that it was her body wash. Harry was red with embarrassment when he told her that he would use the flowery scent to recognize her. All Lucy did was laugh good-naturedly and told Harry it was okay, she didn't mind.

"You really like lavenders don't you Lucy?" Harry asked; they were just standing in line and were waiting for the graduation music to go on.

Lucy turned her head slightly and looked at the boy behind her, "Mmm… I've been using this body wash ever since I started Hogwarts. It's good for my skin; smells nice doesn't it?"

Harry grinned and nodded in agreement; Lucy giggled and turned back to face the front. By now, all students were in line. Harry heard Snape barking at his snakes, telling them to stand straight, stop talking, and pay attention. Harry snorted and covered his mouth so others around him couldn't hear it. Then the green eyed teen heard a faint cough; it was McGonagall clearing her throat, the cue for the music to start. Right after, the music floated around the Great Hall and students began to shift forward.

One by one, they walked up, pausing at a line on the ground. Of course, Harry couldn't see the line so he only approximated. He walked up to where Lucy once stood a few seconds ago. They were told to wait at the line at least ten seconds before walking. Harry counted in his head and started walking on ten; he paced himself, not too slow, not too fast. The brunet didn't know who was walking beside him.

* * *

Draco watched on the side as Harry nodded his head slightly in count. He smiled, secretly, so that nobody could see, and turned his attention away from Potter. When it was their turn to walk, the blond shifted his eyes and saw Harry walking a bit slower than he was, so Draco slowed his own pace to accommodate Harry. The blond watched from the corner of his eyes how Harry had his left hand out, touching the first chair of each row as he passed by them. He also became aware of how Harry was walking closer to the chair legs with each passing step. 

When they both reached the front row (Draco also sat in the first chair by the aisle), Harry's foot got caught with his chair and stumbled forward. With Seeker reflexes, Draco was by Potter's side and his hand flew out to steady the brunet. Harry let out a huge breath of relief and straightened himself up. He turned his face to his rescuer and smiled.

"Thanks…" Harry said; he lips formed a small pout and Harry moved closer as if scrutinizing the person in front of him. "You feel… familiar. The way you smell…" Harry's face flushed as he trailed off.

Draco almost laughed out loud, but didn't. Harry would recognize him if he did. Instead, he just let go of Harry and stood away. The blond walked to his chair, sat down, and did not say a word to Harry. He simply didn't want the Gryffindor to know it was him that helped him out.

Harry stood there, confused, as the person that helped him didn't say a word. He heard footsteps walking away and knew the person, whoever it was, had walked to his or her chair. Harry frowned and sat in his own chair. The thought of how the person felt so familiar to him never left Harry's mind.

'_Just who in Slytherin would help…?'_

The rest of the day passed by with the seventh years of Hogwarts sitting in their chairs, listening to the Headmaster drone on and on with his speeches, and last but not least, going up the set-up stage as their names were called. Harry sat through the whole practice with half of his brain shut off. He dozed off once or twice and had to be wakened up by Dean, who was sitting next to Harry.

"Come on Harry, just three more days of practice and it's done," Dean chuckled; he had just elbowed Harry to wake the brunet up, "Then all we have to do is wait for the real ceremony and it's all over with!"

"Yeah, no more boring speeches…" Harry rolled his eyes, "Dumbledore recited his speech four times today!"

"Well, this is our last time, and then we have the day off. No classes for us you know."

Harry laughed; he cocked his head. Professor Sprout was up on the stage reading names from her list of Hufflepuffs.

"That's the best thing about practices, we don't have class." Harry grinned at his dark skinned friend.

An hour later, the graduation practice was done and Harry happily jumped out of his chair and started his trip to leave the Great Hall. On his way, he passed by Hermione, who hooked her arms with his and walked together with him.

"I saw you Harry. You fell asleep," Hermione said.

"Can't really blame me 'Mione, the speeches were long and dull."

"Hmm…" Hermione hummed, "I guess."

They were almost near where Ron was chatting with Seamus when Hermione whispered into Harry's ear.

"Oh yeah… Why did Draco grab your arm when you were walking to your chair when we just started practice?" Hermione asked her green eyed friend.

Harry stopped abruptly which caused Hermione to stop as well.

"What do you mean he grabbed me?" Harry frowned at Hermione; her eyebrows shot up and looked at Harry with surprise.

"When you were by your chair… Draco was at your side in a flash and held your arm. Didn't you know it was him?"

"How do I know it was him when I can't see Hermione?!" Harry hissed; Hermione cringed at the tone of Harry's voice. He felt Hermione back away a bit and immediately apologized.

"No… I'm sorry. Nobody told you who your partner was Harry," Hermione said softly, "I just thought Draco would've said something to you…"

"No he didn't. In fact, he didn't speak when he held me up," Harry told Hermione, "I kicked my foot against the chair leg and stumbled. I didn't know who it was then… But I told him he… smelled familiar." Harry blushed pink.

"You told Draco he smelt familiar?" Hermione giggled but stopped when Harry gave her a half hearted glare, "Sorry… So how does he smell like?"

"Oh you know… cologne, vanilla, and something that's just Malfoy." Harry answered; Hermione clamped her mouth shut to prevent sudden laughter. "I sat next to him in Potions enough times to remember how he smells like."

"Oh I'm sure you do Harry," Hermione said, clearing her throat to disguise her oncoming giggle, "You don't have to hide it, I know you fancy Draco."

Harry felt heat rising up his cheeks and he smiled shyly, "It's that obvious?"

"Yes," Hermione chirped, "So how long have you liked him?"

Harry had told his two best friends his orientation during their sixth year. When he and Ginny broke up, Ron was upset and demanded an explanation from Harry. Not wanting to lie and understood that Ron was protective of his little sister, Harry told both Hermione and Ron the truth. Ron was really reluctant to accept the fact Harry preferred males while Hermione was happy Harry finally realized what gender he liked. Both Harry and Ron were flabbergasted and Hermione went on to explain she did not care whether Harry liked females or males, just as long he's happy then it was fine. Then Hermione had went on, telling Ron that he should be happy for Harry and that Harry had actually told Ginny about it before their relationship got too far. Ron, after three days' time, finally stated that he was happy for his brunet friend. On that day, Harry was glad he had such great friends with great understanding.

"Well, just the start of this year actually… There's just something about him I like," Harry said meekly, "Also, ever since he said he was fighting on the Light side of the war at the end of sixth year, he changed a lot Hermione. I'm sure you've noticed."

"Yes, I did notice." Hermione agreed, "Like that day when he defended you and told Cheval to back off. I turned around to look at him; he was staring at you Harry. Maybe he…"

"No, I-I'm sure he doesn't like me," Harry smiled thinly, "He's just probably a bit nicer since we're on the same side and all. He sacrificed a lot… I don't know what made him changed sides; he's fighting against his parents now."

"We should give him more credit," Hermione said; she pulled at Harry's arm and they started walking again, "He's not as bad we think he is."

"I know Hermione, I know."

* * *

"Practices are the worst thing ever!" Ron groaned. 

The trio had just arrived at the common room. Ron flopped down onto the couch while Harry sat in an armchair. Hermione sat on the other end of the couch Ron occupied.

Hermione clucked her tongue disapprovingly, "Worse than exams Ronald?"

Ron turned and looked at Hermione sheepishly, "No, exams are first in the list, then practices."

Harry laughed, "Just three more times Ron then it's all over."

"Yeah…" Ron nodded his head, "Anyways, what did the ferret do when he was at your side Harry?" Ron asked suddenly; his eyes were narrowed dangerously but Harry couldn't see it.

Harry sighed exasperatedly, "Did everyone see what Malfoy did?"

Ron opened his mouth to say something but Hermione slapped him on his arm. The redhead cleared his throat while rubbing his forearm.

"Well, it's just that he went up to you so quickly I thought he--"

"He prevented me from falling that's all," Harry said, "I didn't know it was him to begin with."

"Malfoy actually helped you?" Ron asked; his eyes widened with shock, "The ferret actually didn't watch you fall on your face."

"Ron shut up already," Hermione grounded, "Draco helped Harry, which is a good thing or else Harry would've had a broken nose or something."

Ron puffed out his chest and glared at the bushy haired witch, "It's just hard for me to believe Malfoy would do something nice."

"He did okay?!" Harry yelled; his fists were curled on the armrest, "Just drop it Ron." Harry stood up and walked to the stairway without faltering his steps.

Ron watched with stunned silence as Harry stomped up the stairs and went in the boys' dormitory. Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She glared at Ron heatedly.

"That was very stupid of you Ron," Hermione chided; Ron gulped and slowly looked at her. "You know how Harry thinks of Draco; he's not the same anymore Ron, you know that."

"I-I just… It's hard to believe 'Mione," Ron said quietly, "I was acting stupidly wasn't I? I know Malfoy's on our side and all, but still, I can't really accept the fact he's changed for the better."

"Well, he did," Hermione snapped; she stood up as well, "Have some faith in Draco. Think of how much he gave up fighting for the Light." She walked around the couch and had one foot on the stairs when she turned around to look at Ron, "He practically gave up everything Ron, just so you know." Hermione continued her way up the stairs and turned a corner to the girl dormitory.

When Ron reached the boys' room, he found Harry lying on his stomach in his bed; his head resting on his arms, his eyes were closed. Ron walked quietly towards the bed; Harry heard shuffling of feet and slowly opened his eyes, not that it mattered.

"Came to tell me more about how Draco is a sadistic bastard?" Harry asked pointedly, his green eyes flashed with anger; Ron shook his head, his red hair flying into his eyes.

"No… Nothing like that," Ron said hurriedly; Harry's expression softened but did not sit up on his bed. Ron timidly sat down next to his friend. "I came to… apologize for the way I acted downstairs. I was being a total jerk. I'm sorry."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He rolled on his back and sat, his legs crossed under him.

"It's alright Ron, I know it's hard to believe Malfoy turned to the good side," Harry began, "When he first came and told us in secret that he's on our side, I thought he was lying, too." Harry then laid his hand on Ron's shoulder and gave it a pat; he dropped it afterwards, "But then I realized how much he was sacrificing, and how much he had changed. I gave Malfoy a chance Ron, maybe you should, too."

Ron scratched the back of his head absently, "I guess… It's not going to be easy though," Ron then let out a defeated sigh, "I know how you feel towards the fer—Malfoy," Harry, as if on cue, started to blush; Ron continued, "I'm not as oblivious as you think I am, and I don't need Hermione to tell me either. I know you… sort of like him I guess?"

Harry nodded mutely, telling Ron that his assumption was correct.

'_Am I really that transparent?'_ Harry asked himself. He was brought back to reality when Ron shifted on his bed.

"Well, if he does anything to you, he'll be answering to my fists," Ron exclaimed; he cracked his knuckles for emphasis, "Other than that, I'm fine with him being around, just as long he doesn't get on my nerves."

"Not much to worry there Ron," Harry said softly, "After this year, me and Malfoy will never see each other again. Well, in my case, I can't see him no matter what. We'll go our separate ways after school is over."

"Maybe you'll bump into him somehow," Ron suggested; Harry shrugged uncaringly.

"Mabye."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry!! College is preventing me from updating my stories often. T-T I'll update my other two as soon as possible so please bear with me! –bows down apologetically- Thanks for reading:D 


	5. Chapter 5: A Fresh Start

**Disclaimer: No. Draco, Harry, Severus, or any other HP characters used in this story are not mine. Only those with weirdo names are mine lol I can't make up good names haha ;x  
**

A/N: La la la… After many hours of updating my other two stories, it is finally time to update this one again :D Go me! –drinks coffee before starting-

**I guess you can call this the second part of chapter four. But whatever. **

-falls face down on my bed-

**Chapter 5: A Fresh Start**

"Sssseverusss…" Voldemort hissed; his bony, white hand stretched out and beckoned the Potions Master to kneel before him.

Severus bowed and moved quietly to kneel on one knee in front of the Dark Lord. He swept his hood back and with a wave of his hand, Snape's mask was off.

"Yes My Lord?" Severus murmured, his eyes still cast on the ground.

Voldemort let out a wheezy chuckle and drummed his pale fingers on the throne chair he was sitting on. The chair itself was as eerie looking as the owner. The back was purely what looked like a mass of tangled snake bodies carved in white marble. The armrests consisted of two vicious looking vipers; jaws opened wide and showed whoever was looking their long, pointed teeth. Severus kept his head down even as the Dark Lord rose from his seat and glided towards him; Voldemort gripped Severus' chin and tilted his head up.

"Ssseverusss… Tell me, how is our dear Harry Potter doing? Is he well?" Voldemort asked, his scarlet eyes fixed on Severus' onyx ones.

"Nothing out of the ordinary My Lord," Severus said, "Dumbledore had asked me to take Potter for the summer strictly because he did not want Potter to stay with his Muggle relatives."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes. Being a great Legilimens, any of his followers would know that stare only meant Voldemort was probing into one's mind. But also being a great Occlumens, Severus was ready for such a stare. Mental walls surrounded the truth and all Voldemort was seeing was what Severus wanted the Dark Lord to see. Satisfied, Voldemort sneered and removed his hand from Severus' face.

"Very good Severusss… Keep the boy with you. It would be easy to destroy him. Dumbledore is a fool to place Potter in your hands." Voldemort's dry lips curved into a malicious smile, "Stand Severus, you have done well my loyal servant. If anything changes, report to me immediately."

"Yes My Lord," Severus said softly, pushing himself up to stand.

"I will come for Potter when I think the time isss right for me to kill him," Voldemort hissed, "I can't act too carelessly now can I?"

"No." Severus replied, "My Lord, it would be wise if you wait awhile before you come for Potter. Dumbledore might visit him every now and then."

"You're right Severusss, as alwaysss. I'll let our dear, sweet Potter live a bit longer." Voldemort smirked and turned away, his black robe billowed behind him as he glided back to his chair. "Now go Severusss, go back before the old fool realizes you're absent from Hogwarts." He sat down and waved his hand at Snape.

Severus bowed again and backed away from the snake faced man before he Disapparated from Voldemort's lair.

* * *

Harry tugged on the sleeve of his robes. He had strongly hoped he was presentable. Today was the big day: the graduation ceremony; it was only three hours away. Harry had woken up at dawn; the sun hadn't even rise yet and Harry was already in the bathroom, taming his angry mess of hair. An hour later, the rest of the boys stirred and the telltale sounds of things being thrown around were heard from inside the bathroom. With one last tug, Harry stepped out from the bathroom and slowly trekked to the beds. 

Ron was standing in front of a wall mirror--fixing his dress shirt--when he saw Harry walking to his bed.

"Harry! You're all dressed already!" Ron exclaimed, shock written all over his face; Harry grinned at his redheaded friend and plopped down on Ron's unmade bed.

"I woke up an hour before you did," Harry told him, "Had to fix my hair and everything. It takes longer when I can't see the mirrors." Harry shrugged, "So did I put everything on alright?" Harry fingered his dark red tie, "Not sure if my tie is straight or not."

Ron stopped fussing with his own dress shirt and walked to Harry and stood right in front of the sitting teen. He reached up and tugged at the lopsided tie.

"It's just a little bit off the center," Ron chuckled, "I'll fix it for you."

"Thanks."

"So… uhm, you know what you're going to do after?" Ron asked conversationally; Harry tilted his head to the side and gave Ron a confused look.

"After? After graduation you mean?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Are you going to continue with school, go to a university, or start working?" Ron pulled on the knot of the tie and tightened it around Harry's shirt collar. "I'm not sure what I'm doing yet…" He gave Harry a pat on the shoulder to signify he was done with the tie.

"Oh. Well…" Harry scratched his head absently, "You see… I-I uh… I'm going to stay with Snape for the entire summer." He looked up at smiled sheepishly, "Snape's going to train me how to properly battle with my wand…"

"You… You're staying with the snarky bastard?" Ron asked, his blue eyes wide, "For the whole summer? I feel sorry for you mate."

Harry scoffed, "Well, I'm not really looking forward to it… But maybe it won't be that bad." Harry shrugged halfheartedly, "Besides, he's going to teach me how to read Braille. I need to know how to read them or else I can't read ever again."

"Hey… do you think Snape will let people visit you?" Ron wondered. Harry laughed and shook his head.

"This is Snape we're talking about Ron, he doesn't like people."

Ron snorted and sat down on the bed beside Harry, "But alone with Snape for the whole summer… That's boring."

"Well, it can't be boring for me. I'm actually going to work… practice my fighting skills and all." Harry said, swinging his legs by the edge of the bed, "The summer might pass by rather quickly."

"Harry… Do you think you can ask Snape if he'll let you stay with me for a week before going to his house?" Ron queried, "My mum's been asking me if you can stay for summer."

"I'd love to Ron… But I don't know if Snape will let me…" Harry trailed off.

"Just ask him and see what he'll say."

"Alright… I'll ask." Harry smiled softly then he stood up from the bed, "Continue dressing Ron and I think you sprayed a bit too much cologne on yourself." Harry wrinkled his nose, "My nose is getting stuffy…"

"Oh shut up, Harry."

The green eyed teen just chuckled and waited for Ron to finish dressing.

* * *

The ceremony itself lasted a good two hours. All the speeches, name callings, and clapping at every student that went on stage had Harry dozing off. Multiple times he was nudged by Dean so that he would wake up; Harry heard Snape's baritone voice droning from somewhere to his right. 

'_It's almost over… Merlin, this is horrible…'_

Harry didn't hear what Snape said, but the whole Great Hall erupted in applause. Harry cleared his throat and sat straighter in his chair before clapping. It appeared that Dumbledore had taken on stage and was now addressing every student with his last speech of the ceremony. Harry groaned and slid down his chair, his head resting on the back of his chair. He clapped his hand over his eyes and knuckled his eyelids. Harry no longer wore his glasses; there was just no need now. Since the accident happened, his eyes had been freed of those offending specs, which meant his bright jade colored eyes were even brighter than before. Hermione had commented how she never really noticed how green Harry's eyes were. His glasses had prevented the true color of his iris to show.

The hall was filled with clapping again and Dumbledore ended his speech. Students were cheering now, some where crying. Harry applauded; he was just glad that everything was done with. Scraping of chairs resonated across the Great Hall; congratulations were murmured amongst the graduated students. Harry stood up and stretched and started his way to where Hermione was, which was five rows behind his. The brunet's right hand was stretched out, his fingers touching the first chair of each row as he walked by. As Harry passed the second row, his foot was caught by the chair leg and stumbled a bit. A hand grabbed his left arm and steadied him.

"Potter, you really like stumbling in front of people don't you?"

Harry's breath hitched as he turned to face the person holding him. The scent of vanilla and cologne once again assaulted his nose.

Just like the last time he stumbled.

"Malfoy?" Harry tilted his head towards the blond, "It's the second time you saved me. You're always around when I need help aren't you?"

Draco stiffened and released his hold on Harry's arm, "What are you talking about Potter?" He let go of the Gryffindor's arm.

"You helped me last time as well," Harry smiled thinly, "You didn't say a word though, but that's alright. I still knew it was you."

"You-I-That's rubbish!" Draco exclaimed, "Like I want to touch you Potter!" His trademarked sneer wasn't on his face; Harry wouldn't see it anyways, Draco thought.

"Deny all you want Malfoy," Harry said lightly, "But thanks for helping again. I appreciate it." With a small nod, Harry continued his way to Hermione's seat.

Draco's steel-grey eyes followed Harry's retreating form. His lips curled into a smirk as he ran his hand through his baby fine blond hair. His heart was still thumping wildly as if he had just won the Quidditch World Cup.

Harry had known it was him. Was Harry going to think Draco was going soft?

"Certainly hope not," Draco muttered under his breath; he turned away and stalked to where his fellow Slytherins were, "Not that it really matters… It's not like I'm going to see Potter again."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Draco's sneer was back on his face and pretended that nothing happened during the past few minutes as he greeted the group of Slytherins.

"Malfoy did you just help Potter? Again?" Cheval said with disdain; she was standing with another group of Slytherins, "Aren't you being overly friendly with Pothead?"

"Shut the hell up Cheval," Draco snapped, "And keep your big, pointy nose out of my business."

Cheval moved away from her group of friends and took one step towards the blond, her teal eyes flashed with anger.

"You better watch yourself Draco or other people might think you've sided with the Light." She hissed, her lipstick covered lips formed an ugly scowl. "The last thing you want is for everyone to go against you."

Charlotte Cheval's family members were huge supporters of the Dark Lord. Her parents were Death Eaters—although not part of the inner circle—they still supported Voldemort tremendously. Charlotte had bragged to the whole Slytherin house that after graduation, she was going to get her Dark Mark. She was proud to become one of Voldemort's followers.

The truth was, not many of the Slytherins wanted to become Death Eaters, despite all the rumors. Draco was one of them. He never wanted to follow his father and mother's footsteps, and there was no way in hell he wanted to become Voldemort's puppet. Of course, he had to keep that secret to himself; there were people, such as Cheval, that would leak out information that would somehow go to the Dark Lord himself. Only Draco's closest friends, such as Crabbe and Goyle, Parkinson, and Zabini, knew about his secret. Malfoy's four friends were in the same boat as Draco; they had no desire to become Death Eaters.

"You know, I can care less," Draco smirked, "I don't care what others think and I especially don't care what you think Cheval." Grey eyes met teal as both Draco and Charlotte stared at each other. "Now go back to your little circle of friends bitch."

Growling, Cheval moved closer to Draco; her hands clenching into fists. Draco arched an eyebrow and watched steadily as Cheval advanced towards him. He would not hesitate to fight back. Draco didn't care that she was a girl; Charlotte acted like a guy most of the time anyway.

He hated that bitch, and he wasn't the only one that hated her.

Malfoy curled his own hands and was ready to send a punch at Cheval's face when Snape appeared and was walking briskly towards the two opposing groups.

"What the devil is going on here?!" Severus barked, "Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Cheval are you two going to start a fight right in front of all the teachers?" His dark eyes flashed, "What a foolish thing to do and Mr. Malfoy I thought you would know better." Snape looked at Draco and the blonde smirked.

"Sorry Professor, but Cheval wouldn't keep her big mouth shut." Draco said, lifting his hands and shrugged, "I was just trying to shut her up."

"You both are very fortunate you are no longer students as of today," Snape snapped, "Otherwise I wouldn't even pause to give you both detentions for a whole month!" Severus turned sharply and pointedly looked at Cheval, "And you, Ms. Cheval, your parents are here to take you home. Something urgent had come up, they said. They're outside the Great Hall, waiting for you. I'll see you out."

Cheval sneered, "Thanks for telling me Professor," She smoothed out her robe and sent Draco a sinister smile, "And you better watch your back Malfoy, a weakling that you are. Even Potter can't help you!"

Snape clasped Cheval's shoulder and pushed the girl in the direction towards the big doors of the Great Hall. Draco watched, his body shaking with anger.

"… There's going to be a day when I'll make you regret saying those words to me." Draco vowed; his voice barely a whisper, "I'll make sure of it."

* * *

Harry took a deep breath as he stood in front of the dungeon doors. Just as he had promised Ron, Harry was here to ask Snape to see if he could stay with the Weasleys for a week before Snape would take him. He knocked three times on the heavy doors before calling out. 

"Professor? Professor Snape are you in there?" Harry yelled; his voice echoed in the corridors.

Harry was about to knock again when the doors swung opened; Severus looked down at the teen in front of him.

"What do you want Potter?" Severus drawled; Harry gulped and turned his face at Severus.

"May I speak with you? Inside?"

Severus let out a sigh and opened the door wider; Harry nodded his thanks and stepped into the cold room.

"Er… You know how you said I'm to stay with you for the summer?" Harry started, "Well, I was wondering, sir, if you will permit to let me stay with the Weasleys for a week before you take me away."

"Potter, don't make it sound like I'm kidnapping you!" Severus snapped, "… Take you away indeed." Snape muttered.

"Oh. Sorry," Harry blushed, "But yes, I was wondering if you'll let me stay with them."

Severus stared at the blushing face, the green eyes—ones that can no longer see—rounded and pleading, and sighed. He rubbed his face with the palm of his hands.

"Potter… A week is too long. We should start your training as soon as possible," Severus muttered, "How about I let you stay for four days?"

"Really? Four days?" Harry asked happily, his green eyes lighting up, "Oh thank you so much Professor! Thank you!"

"Potter, stop thanking me before I take back my offer!" Snape barked, "Now get out and tell your friend."

Harry smiled widely, "Thank--"

"POTTER!"

"Oh. Right. Good day Professor." Harry turned around and left the dungeons.

"Merlin, help me." Severus groaned.

* * *

After getting Snape's permission to stay with Ron, Harry did not waste any time telling the redhead. He had pulled Harry with him to their dorm to pack, but after awhile Harry went back downstairs to greet Ron's parents. Ron's family was there for the ceremony and was now in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Ron to finish packing. Harry was about to go back upstairs to finish his own packing when a hand stopped him from progressing. Molly Weasley pulled Harry to her bosom and enveloped the green eyed teen in a tight hug.

"Oh Harry dear, are you doing alright? Ron wrote to me about your accident…" Molly gushed; Harry wrapped his arms around the woman and hugged back. Only after hearing Harry's muffled protests did Mrs. Weasley release Harry. "Oh I'm sorry Harry."

Harry shook his head and laughed, "It's alright Mrs. Weasley. I'm doing quite well. I getting use to it; blindness isn't going to stop me." Harry turned his eyes up at Molly, "I would appreciate it if you guys don't treat me any different."

"Of course Harry," Molly smiled and smoothed Harry's wild hair, "We understand."

Harry smiled gratefully at the woman, "Oh… Also, I'm only staying for a few days at the Burrow."

"Why? I thought you are staying for the whole summer Harry!" Molly exclaimed; Harry shook his head.

"Uhm… Dumbledore asked Snape to take me. Give me lessons on fighting and reading Braille."

"Severus? He knows Braille?" Molly queried, then her eyes widened in recognition, "Ah. Yes, I remember his cousin… was also blind."

"Yeah, that's why he's teaching me. Snape's going to take me to his house later this week so I can only spend four days at the Burrow."

"Oh that's a shame," Mrs. Weasley frowned, "Well, it's better than not staying over at all. I'm surprised Severus let you stay with us."

"I was shocked, too," Harry chuckled, "Anyways, I'll go back to packing. Be back in twenty."

"Take your time Harry, there's no need to rush." Molly assured, "We'll be taking a portkey back."

Harry groaned, "Not portkey… I hate portkeys."

Mrs. Weasley laughed and patted Harry on the back, "Go on up dear, and then we'll leave."

"Yes Mrs. Weasley!" Harry gave the matriarch of the Weasley family a salute before walking away and up the stairs.

"Mum, he'll be fine," Ginny whispered; she was sitting in an armchair when Harry and her mother were talking to each other. "He's strong willed and won't give up easily."

"Yes… But Harry will be with Sev--"

"Mum! We all know Professor Snape is on our side," Ginny frowned, "You're not afraid that he'll turn Harry to… to You-Know-Who are you?"

"I know Ginny, I know that. I'm not worried that Severus will betray us. I just hope Severus can really help Harry cope…"

* * *

Just as Mrs. Weasley had said, they left immediately after they had packed up. She had taken out a small teacup and told her children—and Harry—to take hold of it. After they had spun for what felt like hours, Harry found himself, on his arse, in the Burrow's front yard. Wincing as he rubbed his sore bum, a hand brushed against his and linked their fingers together. At once, Harry knew it was Ginny's hand; the skin was soft and smaller than Ron's and Mrs. Weasley's.

"Thanks Gin," Harry told the red haired girl; he heard the clinking of earrings which told him that Ginny had shook her head.

"No problem. Come on, I'll take you to Ron's room and you can unpack." She hooked her arm with Harry's and guided the green eyed teen inside.

"Careful, some of the steps are rickety," Ginny warned as they trekked up the wooden stairs to Ron's room, "Wouldn't want you to get your foot stuck." After awhile they were finally in front of Ron's room; Ginny opened the door without knocking, "Well, here we are." She peered inside and found her brother lying on his bed, his eyes closed. "Ron! Get your arse off that bed!"

With a yelp and some scrambling, Ron hopped off the bed and glared at his sister. Harry chuckled and patted Ginny's hand.

"Thanks Ginny," Harry smiled, "We'll go down in a bit."

"Yeah Ginny, leave us boys alone," Ron grinned. Ginny tossed her head, gave Harry's hand a squeeze, and left the room.

"Girls… What if I was naked? She didn't even knock!" Ron muttered; he flopped back down on the bed.

"She's your sister Ron, and I don't think you would lie around naked in your own home with family members around." Harry said; he pulled out his shrunken trunk from his robe and resized it. Harry popped open the trunk and began taking some fresh clothes out. "Do you mind if I take a shower first? If your mother asks for me, tell her I'm in the bathroom."

"Sure mate, take your time. I'll go downstairs and see what mum's cooking." Ron sat up from his bed, "I think she's baking a pie."

"Thirty minutes tops," Harry grinned and stood up, his arms full with his clothes, "Then I'll be down for your mum's delicious…" Harry sniffed the air, "Apple pie."

"Mmm… Apple…" Ron placed his hand on his stomach, "Maybe I'll sneak into the kitchen and steal some apples. The ceremony left me famished."

Harry laughed and waved Ron out. These four days are going to be nice.

* * *

Harry and the rest of the Weasley family were sitting in the living room, drinking glasses of cool lemonade, when the hearth roared to life and Severus stepped out. It was the fourth evening at the Weasley's and Harry was very reluctant to go. He had packed up his belongings once more; his trunk was sitting ready by the sofa. When Snape stepped out from the fire, Harry drained his remainder of his lemonade quickly and set the glass on the table.

"Professor, you're here," Harry said; he brushed his hands on his trousers and stood up, "Let me just grab my trunk…"

"Of course, go ahead," Snape drawled; he looked over to Mrs. Weasley, who was watching him with slightly narrowed eyes, "Molly, it's good to see you again… And you too Arthur."

Mr. Weasley stood up and went over to Severus. Both men clasped their hands together in a handshake. Mrs. Weasley let out a small sigh and a smile graced her face. Harry, by now, had shrunk his trunk and stood waiting by the sofa.

"Take care of him Severus," Mr. Weasley murmured and leaned closer to the slightly taller Potions Master, "Albus told us what you're doing during our last Order meeting. I hope everything will work out." Arthur whispered.

Snape nodded and moved away; Mrs. Weasley had also stood up and was now standing next to her husband. All the Weasley children sat quietly and watched the adults' exchange.

"You watch him, Severus, don't let any harm come to Harry," Molly said sternly.

"He's safe with me Molly, I assure you." Severus said; he turned his attention to Harry, "Come, Potter, we leave now."

Harry walked carefully over to where Snape was standing. Severus took Harry's arm and guided him to the fireplace.

"Good-bye everyone! Take care! Thanks for having me." Harry said.

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry one last hug before he was pulled away by Severus. Mr. Weasley patted Harry's shoulder; Ginny and Ron called out their farewells and well wishes. Harry sent them a fleeting smile before he stepped into the fireplace, Snape right next to him.

"Hold on tight Potter," Severus drawled and threw his handful of powder down, "Snape Manor!"

Green fire erupted and they were gone.

* * *

Draco was sitting in the living room of his godfather's manor. He was reading one of his godfather's many books when Draco was interrupted by the crackling fire of the fireplace. The blond slowly closed his book and set it to the side. Thirty minutes ago, Severus Snape had told Draco he was going to leave to retrieve _someone_. Snape didn't even tell the blond who he was retrieving. Before Draco could even ask who in the world it was, Severus had stepped into the fireplace and was gone.

Now, thirty minutes later, the fire was crackling again. Then it turned green; and before Draco could even yell out 'Sweet Merlin!' Harry tumbled out of the fireplace, followed by Severus—who did not tumble—and the fire was normal looking again. Draco stared in shock as Potter stood up, brushing all the soot on his robes. Draco rolled his eyes when Harry missed all the dirty spots.

"Can't you land on your feet for once?" Snape asked; he had bent down and helped Harry to stand. "You tumbled out from the fireplace when we met with Dumbledore."

"Well… I hate Flooing." Harry grumbled, "Never liked it, never will." Harry jutted his bottom lip out, totally unaware that there was another human being in the room besides Severus. "Are we in your living room Professor? I can smell… books… and something else."

Harry had picked up a faint scent of vanilla and thought that was impossible. The only person that smelled like that was… Malfoy.

Draco, on the other hand, was staring at his godfather and Potter in shock. His mouth hanged open and could not will it to close. It simply did not listen to him. Severus saw his godson standing there, gob smacked, and smirked.

"Wait here Potter while I go upstairs to have your room ready for you. I didn't have time to tidy it beforehand."

"Oh. It's okay Professor. I'll just… uh… sit here and wait."

As Harry moved closer to the couch, Draco backed away from Potter's searching fingers. When the smaller teen sat down in the plush sofa, Draco glared at Severus. Snape just smirked and pivoted out of the living room.

Harry sat, feeling uncomfortable. It was too quiet, beside the crackling fire. He cleared his throat and leaned back against the sofa; he closed his eyes and rested a bit before Snape would come back.

Draco watched Harry warily, saw the green eyes closed, and his breathing had evened, before sitting down carefully next to the Gryffindor. The light from the fire flickered over Harry's features. Draco took in the long eyelashes, slightly pink cheeks, and full, plump lips. He sighed quietly and smiled.

'_He looks peaceful… Maybe I should leave before he hears me or something…'_ Draco thought.

Harry stirred before Draco could move. The blond held his breath as Harry started to move around and all of a sudden, Harry's arms flailed and collided with Draco's chest, hard.

"Ow!" Draco cried then covered his mouth and stopped breathing all together.

'_Please let him think I'm Severus…'_

Harry snapped his eyes open when he heard the yell. The voice wasn't deep enough to be Snape's…

Oh dear Merlin. No freakin' way.

"Malfoy?!" Harry yelped; he scrambled and hopped out of the sofa. "I-You-What? How? When?" Harry babbled while clawing his hair.

Draco uncovered his mouth and breathed again. So much for hoping Harry would think he was Severus. Damn.

'_Oh well… might as well… Why is he here?!"_ Draco screamed in his head. He coughed into his hand, poised himself. '_Questions later Draco… questions later. I am going to kill Severus.'_ Draco got off the sofa and strode over to where Harry was still pulling out his hair.

"Nice to see you again, Potter."

* * *

A/N: Wahahahahaha! Sorry this chapter took awhile, but here it is :D And it begins! Life with Severus and Draco! Thanks for reading :) 


	6. Chapter 6: Into the Snakes' Pit

**Disclaimer: All HP characters strictly belong to JK Rowling. **

A/N: sorry for the long wait. Enjoy the newest chapter:D

**Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate them :) They keep me going. **

So it begins…

**Chapter 6: Into the Snakes' Pit**

No.

No. No. No. 

Harry yanked at his hair as Draco stood there next to him. His fingers tangled painfully in his messy brown hair, determined to get at _least_ a clump out. 

'_No! Why! Why does Dra—Malfoy—have to be here! What did I do to deserve this…?'_ Harry asked himself.

He was in the very same house with Draco Malfoy goddamnit!

Draco watched as Harry shook his head from side to side; the green eyed teen's fingers never left the nest of brown hair. The blond arched one delicate eyebrow and smirked. How Draco _loved_ Harry's reaction of knowing that he was also here at Snape's manor. 

"Potter… I would suggest you stop yanking at your hair, unless you really want to go bald." Draco drawled; he looked down at his fingernails and inspected each one. "Besides, I think Severus would hate to find clumps of hair on the floor."

Harry spluttered and gave his hair one last tug before dropping his hands to his sides. He didn't care that his hair looked like a mess; it was always a mess anyway. He stared in Draco's direction, then narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked, "I'm pretty sure Snape didn't bring me to _your _house. And why—wait, you called Snape by his first name!" Harry barely registered the fact that Malfoy had indeed called Snape, Severus. 

Draco let out a boring sigh, "First of all, you're not at my house; my parents would kill you if you appeared at my manor. Second, I called Snape by his first name because I can." Draco finished smugly. 

Harry puffed out his chest and placed his hands on his hips, "What gave _you _the right to call him that?"

"The very fact that Severus Snape is my godfather Potter," Draco answered, "Does that shock you?"

Harry's eyes widened, but then returned to their normal size after a few seconds. He then shrugged, "Not really… I've always thought there was more than a teacher and student relationship between you two." 

"So you do have a brain after all Potter, I'm impressed," Draco sneered; his sneer turned into a small smile as he watched Harry furrowed his eyebrows. The teen had such beautiful green eyes…

'_Crap.'_ Draco then cursed in his head for having such a thought and backed away from Potter. 

Harry frowned slightly when the silence between him and Malfoy became unbearable. He shifted his weight to his left foot, and then to his right. The brunet hesitantly reached out, using his fingertips to sense where the other teen was. All he came in contact with was air and nothing more. 

Draco cleared his throat and Harry's head immediately swiveled to his direction. 

"Potter… I'll take you to your room. Severus is probably done cleaning or whatever he's doing upstairs." 

Draco inched closer to the green eyed teen and brushed his hand across Harry's to let the smaller teen know where he was. Harry was startled when Draco wrapped his thin fingers around Harry's wrist; the skin felt cool and clammy, as if Malfoy was nervous about something.

"Malfoy… Relax a bit will you? I think you're cutting off my blood circulation." Harry told the blond, twisting his wrist in Draco's grip. 

Draco looked down at his hand and winced when he saw the flesh around the area where he was holding Harry had turned a bit pale. Just as he was told, Draco relaxed his hold on Potter and began pulling the brunet along with him. 

"Come on Potter, we're going upstairs," Draco said as he led Harry to the upper level of Snape's house. "… Sorry for holding you so tight." Draco said lightly as they started up the stairs.

Harry had been taking mental notes in his head as he followed Draco quietly. They had turned left once, then walked straight for about ten steps before they started going up a stairway. Harry was counting the steps—he was at five—when he heard Malfoy apologize. His ears perked up and he 'looked' at Draco in front of him. The blond still had his hand wrapped around Harry's wrist and every now and then, Draco would use the pad of his thumb to smooth over Harry's skin. Malfoy didn't know he was doing it of course. 

Harry blushed at Draco's touch and bent his head down, "It's alright Mal—Draco." He felt Draco stiffen when he called the blond by his first name. 

Draco was taken aback when he heard his given name rolling off Potter's tongue. He smiled vaguely; his name sounded good when Harry said it. Pausing on the twentieth step, Draco turned around to face the smaller teen, his hand still curled around Harry's thin wrist. 

"I don't think I've ever given you permission to call me by my given name," Draco said; he pretended to sound like he didn't care, but in reality, there was a smile plastered on his sharp face.

Harry's glasses-free eyes flicked upwards at the blond. He bit his bottom lip and frowned. Draco's breath hitched when Potter chewed on those lips. He had half a mind to just bend down and claim those lips as his own. But of course, Malfoys did not act irrationally, they were calm and collected.

"Well-I mean… I just thought… Oh bollocks, forget it." Harry flustered, "Sorry I said--"

"Potter will you calm down?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes, "I was kidding. You know, a joke? Ha-ha?"

Heat crept up Harry's face, "I-you-Oh."

"Yes. Oh indeed. I'll be seeing you for months to come I expect. Am I correct?" Draco queried; Harry nodded at his question. "Is Severus helping you with your… condition?" Again, Harry only nodded. "Hm… Very well. You're going to be in my presence and I'll be in yours. Might as well act civil towards each other eh?" 

Speechless, Harry only opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. What happened to the old Draco Malfoy!

"What's the matter Pot—Harry?" Draco smirked, "Cat got your tongue?"

"No… Uhm… It's just that you and I never talked to each other like this," Harry gestured to himself and Draco, "Whenever we talked, we're cursing each other's arses off… we hate each other." 

Draco pursed his lips. He never _hated_ Harry. Well, maybe back when he was younger he didn't like how Potter was always the center of attention. Draco disliked, sure, but never hated. And then of course that dislike turned into something more surprising. Draco had started to notice Harry in a whole different light. The blond liked being around the green eyed teen; he loved the way Potter laughed with his friends, the way those emerald orbs shined when Harry smiled. Before he knew it, Draco had acquired feelings for the brunet. Draco didn't see the point of having Harry know how he felt; it was a one way thing anyway. Harry wouldn't love him. No way in a million years. 

"… I don't hate you Harry," Draco said so softly that Harry almost missed it; the blond turned again and pulled Harry up the stairs. "Stop thinking that I hate you. We're not in school anymore. I admit I was a childish, selfish prat. We are grown ups now aren't we?" 

Harry gasped then let out a small snicker, "So you admit you were a prat?"

Draco turned his nose into the air, "Shut up. Anyways, as I was saying, we should put the past behind us. I'm offering you my hand in friendship again Potter. Think of yourself special."

Harry stopped breathing for just five seconds. He had indeed felt special. Harry declined Draco's friendship six years ago, and now, Draco was offering again. Maybe, just maybe, Harry thought, it would work out this time. If he was to be around Draco for the next few months, it would be nice to have somebody to talk to. Start with friendship… then maybe something more. Harry actually smiled at the last thought. 

"Yeah, I would like that Draco…" Harry smiled at the back of the blonde's head, "I liked that."

Yeah, it would work out fine. 

* * *

"Watch the last step," Draco warned as he and Harry reached the top floor. "I don't exactly know which room Severus wants you to stay in…" 

Right at that moment, Snape emerged from one of the rooms down the hallway to the left. Draco tugged at Harry's arm again and they walked over to Severus, who was just closing the door to Harry's room. 

"Uncle Sev!" Draco called, "Are you done with the room?"

Severus looked up at his godson; his eyes then traveled down to where Draco was holding Potter's hand. Snape smirked at the blond and then flicked his eyes to their joined hands. Draco followed his godfather's gaze; his pale hand was linked with Harry's sun kissed one. The brunet's hand was definitely smaller than his, but that wasn't the point. Draco returned Snape's smirk, his hand still linked with Harry's.

"Don't you get any ideas Uncle Severus," Draco drawled, "I was guiding Harry up the stairs. You wouldn't want him to bump into anything now do you?" 

"I am not getting any ideas," Severus sneered, "I was just… surprised to see you actually helping Potter." 

Harry blushed and hid behind Draco's body; the blond smiled a bit at Harry's action. 

"We made a truce," Draco told the older man, "It's better than having us hexing in your house, right? The last thing you want is a blasted hole in the wall. You know Harry's capable of doing so."

Harry turned a beet red, "I… I cannot. Stop it, Malfoy." Harry then peeked out from behind Draco's head and smiled fleetingly at the Potions Master. "Sir… Uh… is the room ready?"

"Yes Potter, I've tidied it up." Snape said uncaringly; Harry scowled at his professor but did not comment, "Draco, tell Mr. Potter where things are will you? I'll be in my chambers, writing a letter to Albus because he _insisted_ I write to him once you were settled Potter."

Harry heard Snape's robes fluttered past as the man walked by; he also caught the scent of sandalwood. Stepping to the side, Harry turned his face and gave Draco a small smile. 

"Well, show me the way." 

"Of course, Potter." Draco nodded slightly and led Harry to his room, their hands still intertwined.

"Okay, the bed is straight across from the door. Don't make any turns and whatnot and you'll reach the bed." Draco told the smaller teen once they stepped inside the bedroom. 

The blond released his hold on Potter's hand and gave the teen a small shove. Harry held out his arms in front of him and walked carefully; he counted fifteen steps before his knees hit the edge of the bed. 

"Wow… this room is huge!" Harry exclaimed; he bent down and pressed his palms into the soft mattress. After patting it a few times, Harry sat down. 

"Well of course Harry," Draco smirked, "I think Severus gave you a room almost the same size as mine."

"Do… Do you stay here every summer?" Harry asked suddenly. Maybe it was a good thing he couldn't see Draco's expression. Harry had a feeling that the blonde's face had turned into a scowl when he asked the question.

Draco pursed his lips as the words trickled out of Harry's mouth. He began staying with Severus ever since he was a sixth year. The year when he switched sides, the year that changed everything. His father, Lucius Malfoy, exploded when he found out his son had actually _dared_ to be against him and told his only child that he simply did not wish to see his face anymore. Draco's mother, Narcissa, cried and begged Lucius not to do this to their only son, but Lucius, with an iron fist, stuck with it. And so, ever since then, Draco had stayed with Severus, who took Draco in and gave the blond shelter and most importantly, support. It surprised Draco, even to this day, that his father did not disown him, take him off from the family's name. Not that he cared. Draco wished—_hoped—_that he would have nothing to do with Lucius Malfoy in the future. 

"No, I practically live here now," Draco answered; he saw Harry relaxed and Draco smirked, "Ever since my sixth year I've been living with my godfather. My real father simply didn't want to see me ever again."

Harry turned his non-seeing eyes at Draco; he can actually hear the sadness in the blonde's voice. Harry frowned slightly.

"I'm… sorry Draco. I shouldn't have asked…" Harry mumbled; he picked at some nonexistent lint on the bed sheet. 

Draco flapped his hand at Harry but then remembered the teen couldn't… see. He mentally kicked himself and walked closer to where Harry sat. Draco reached out and gingerly touched Harry's arm.

"Come, I'll tell you where everything is," Draco said, pulling Harry to stand, "You can't just know where the bed is now can you?" 

Hearing the playful tone in Draco's voice, Harry smiled and nodded; his arms hooked with the blonde's. This was not the time to press into matters that saddened Draco, Harry thought. There will be other times, but for now, he was going to learn how it felt to be with the person he had come to like, and maybe, to love.

* * *

"POTTER!" 

Harry groaned and rolled over in his bed. His fingers clutched at the soft pillow and pressed his face deeper into the softness. He vaguely made out the banging coming from the door. And the yelling. 

"Go 'way…" Harry moaned and blindly reached for his blanket, pulling it over his head. 

"Ten minutes Potter! If you're not down in ten minutes, don't whine when I make you clean my lab. With no magic!" The voice yelled.

Harry whimpered; he recognized the voice. It was Snape. With his eyes still closed, Harry kicked the warm cocoon wrapped around his body and sat up in bed. The brunet let out a huge yawn before Harry rubbed the weariness out from his eyes. There was an unreachable itch, somewhere under his eyelids. The salve that he had been putting on had helped with the soreness tremendously, but there was sometimes this stubborn itch that wouldn't go away. Harry assumed it was the scar tissues.

Although it had almost been two months since he lost his eyesight, Harry was still not used to the fact that when he woke up from sleep, all he saw was darkness. Pitch black darkness. It didn't matter if the sun was shining brightly outside or if the lights in the room were on full blast, Harry saw nothing. Sometimes he even forgot if he had his eyes opened or not. 

Sighing, Harry threw his legs over the side of the bed. Harry then gripped the edge of the nightstand to help push himself to stand. Letting out another yawn—he was still so tired—the brunet began making his way towards the bathroom. He remembered what he and Draco went through last night; the lavatory was about twenty-five steps away from his bed. It was located on the left side of the room, right side if Harry came in through the bedroom door. Draco made sure to tell Harry that there weren't any objects such as small tables, armchairs, ottomans, or rugs with corners sticking up. Those were on the right from the bed. So, counting twenty-five in his head, Harry's hand touched the doorframe to the loo. Closing the door behind him, Harry walked until his toes kicked against the toilet; relieving his bladder, Harry felt much better.

"Now where's the toothbrush…?" Harry wandered to the bathroom sink and washed his hands. Patting around, he found a towel and dried his hands. "I think Draco said it's on the left of the faucet…" Reaching out, Harry's hand swiped the end of the toothbrush and he grabbed it. 

Taking the tube of toothpaste, which was on the right side of the sink, Harry squeezed a dollop onto the brush. Within five minutes, Harry brushed his teeth, gargled, washed his face, and somehow carded his fingers through his hair to make it less tangled. Fearing that his ten minutes was up and not wanting to clean out Snape's lab by hand, Harry rushed out of his bedroom as quickly as he can. 

By the time he had managed to get downstairs—without rolling down the stairway—Severus was sitting in the living room, reading newspaper. Snape did not acknowledge that he knew Harry was in the living room; he simply continued to read his morning Daily Prophet. Harry frowned when he didn't hear Snape's barking voice as he walked closer to the couches; he knew the man had heard him pounding into the living room. The brunet was quite sure the Potions Master was there, he heard the slight crinkling of paper, the slight scent of sandalwood, and Snape's calm breathing. 

'_At least he's not blowing up on me…'_ Harry thought.

"Mr. Potter… Are you going to stand there the whole day or are you going to actually sit down?" Severus droned.

Harry huffed and shuffled over to the couch; he plopped down unceremoniously. The crinkling of paper was louder and Harry guessed that Snape was reading a newspaper. 

"Sir… Are we going to start my lessons today?" Harry asked, hoping that Snape wasn't really going to make him clean his lab. Harry heard the Potions Master sigh and snapped fingers.

"Here's a book about Braille," Snape said, dropping a rather heavy book into Harry's lap, "The first few chapters talks about the basics." 

"How can I read if--!"

Severus sneered, "I'll read with you for I have another copy of this book. The first couple of pages is about the alphabet and has actual bumps for you to feel." 

Harry snarled and opened the book that was sitting in his lap. Turning to the first page, he found that what Snape had said was true. He ran his fingers down along the page and felt tiny bumps in small clusters. Harry assumed that those clusters were letters of the alphabet. 

"There are five letters across, six rows going down," Snape told the teen as he saw Harry running his fingers down the page, "If you move your fingers across you should feel the first group of bumps, which would be the letter 'A', then a space, and then the next cluster of bumps for 'B'. I'm going to tell you now, Potter, under each letter there are six dots, but some of them will feel bigger and the others smaller." Snape reached over and took Harry's hand and guided it to the first letter of the alphabet. "What you are feeling now is the letter 'A'." 

As Severus pressed Harry's index finger down on the dots, Harry felt—as Snape had said—one big dot and five smaller ones. Harry mouth formed a small 'o' as he familiarized himself with the letter 'A'.

"So there are two columns of dots and in each column there are three bumps?" Harry asked.

"That is correct," Severus replied, "All letters have the same arrangements, except the bigger dots would have different positions. Touch letter 'B' and tell me what you feel."

Harry did as he was told and moved his index finger to the right where he felt the next set of dots. Just like letter 'A', there were six dots in two columns. The only difference was that 'B' had two bigger dots, one under the other; both were on the left column. 

"It's almost the same as 'A'," Harry told the older man, "Except this letter has two big dots." 

"Good, continue with the rest of the letters," Snape said, "I'll give you two days to memorize them. Do you think you can do it?"

Harry bit his lower lip and nodded, "Yeah… I think I can. I'll try." 

Although his voice was hesitant, Severus saw the determined glint in Potter's eyes. His thin lips curved upward and he stood up from the couch.

"I'll leave you to it then, Potter," Severus said, "That's all for today. I just want to let you get a feel about Braille. I won't go too fast since this is all new to you."

"Thanks Professor," Harry murmured, "I'll… I'll continue with this shall I?"

Snape smirked, "Of course, if you feel you're ready, you can go on and see if you can read the short sentences the book provides."

"Er… Okay." Harry said; he heard the fluttering of robes and knew that Snape had walked away, leaving him alone in the living room with the book. "Well, let's get started." 

Harry delved right in to the World of Braille.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Here's the newest chapter! I actually checked to see how the dots looked like for the alphabet lol :P 


	7. Chapter 7: Right Here With You

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I know, they're not mine. They never were to begin with.**

A/N: Here's the long awaited chapter! You know, I actually tried reading Braille, and man, it was hard lol .-. Those damn dots all look the same! Bah!

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

I've just finished with my Snarry; maybe now I'll have more time to update this story and my other one. But! I've started a de-aging fic! You can go and check that out as well hehe :P ... Even if I only have one chapter...

**I've been sick… my nose is all stuffed up and then there are the sniffles… Sorry for the delay :(**

**Chapter 7: Right Here With You**

When mid-morning rolled around, Harry was on the verge of yanking out all of his hair. Although not being able to see, the green eyed teen was glaring at the book as if it was his greatest enemy. As of now, it _was_ his greatest enemy.

"Damn dots!" Harry cried out; he slammed his fist down onto the opened book, "Why must my life be so fuckin' difficult!" Harry growled and his hands flew up to pull at his hair.

Just as Harry was about to give the book a smacking of its lifetime, he heard—somewhere behind him—a soft chuckle. Right away, Harry could tell that it wasn't Snape. The voice was softer, not piercing like the Potions Master's voice.

"I told you before Potter, if you keep pulling at your hair, you'll become bald." Draco said jokingly, "It would be a pity to lose all that fine hair…" The blond walked around the couch Harry was sitting on and sat down next to the smaller teen. "What's wrong? I heard you yelling when I was coming down the stairs." Draco bit the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from laughing at the brunet's frustrated look.

Harry picked up the book that was on this lap and shook it as if he was throttling a person.

"I can't memorize anything! Snape told me to remember them and he's going to test me in two days! TWO DAYS! I can't do this… the dots… they're making fun of me right now!" Harry stopped shaking the book and let it drop from his hands; the text landed on the couch. "I can see it in my head. The Braille letters are swimming around and laughing at me."

Draco was listening to Harry rant and once the brunet finished talking he couldn't hold it in anymore. Draco let out a long, gleeful laugh that made Harry stop moving altogether.

"Oh Harry stop being so-so melodramatic!" Draco laughed, clutching his sides, "The dots aren't going to laugh at you… You just started this; you can't expect to remember all the letters in two hours." Draco took a deep breath; he pressed his palm into his side to get rid of the stitch from laughing so hard. "You need to have patience Harry. This is practically like a new language for you…"

"I know that!" Harry whined, "But-but they all feel the same! You know what? I think my fingers are too wide."

Draco spluttered and let out another laugh, "Your fingers are too wide? Oh Merlin… Harry what do you say if I help you?"

Harry stopped pouting and turned to face the blond, "You'll-you'll help me?" Harry then tilted his head to the side and gave Draco a lopsided smile, "I didn't know you can be nice Malfoy. And you were laughing… Hell, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before. With me around you anyway."

"Shut up, Potter." Draco said snappishly, but he was smiling all the same, "I _do _know how to be nice and laugh."

Harry heard the playful tone in Draco's voice and he beamed at the blond beside him.

"Well if you really mean it… Snape said he has an exact copy of this book. Maybe you can find it in the shelves. The professor said he'll read with me once I get to the harder chapters." Harry said, picking up the neglected book and placing it back on his lap, "I really need help to memorize the alphabet so thanks Draco."

"Thank me when I can really help you learn," Draco smiled and got up to retrieve the second copy of the book. "I've never touched Braille before so I guess I'm learning along with you."

The blond raked his grey eyes up and down one of the bookshelves in the living room. It was filled with books; there were texts about Potions, huge, thick tomes about the origins of Dark Arts, and surprisingly, Draco found a book on Healing. Draco was about to move on to the next shelf when he found the book he was looking for_. How To Read Braille: A Beginner's Guide_. Draco scoffed at the title; obviously it was written by a Muggle author. He took the book and walked back to where Harry was once again running his finger over the tiny bumps on a page. Draco smiled lightly and sat down next to the brunet. Malfoy opened his book to the exact same page and stared at the offending black dots.

"You're right Potter, it's going to take awhile to get this down." Draco frowned; Harry snickered and looked at the blond.

"I have 'A' to 'E' down. It's the first five letters so they're not that hard. I tried going farther and I got stuck on 'J'." Harry sighed and let his finger glide over the second line, "I really want to learn this, but it's just so hard to remember the positions of the bigger bumps."

Draco looked over at Harry and the way the brunet used his forefinger to sweep over the clusters of bumps. Draco followed suit, and without looking down he smoothed his index finger over the letter 'A'.

"I understand what you mean now," Draco muttered, "If your fingers were too wide, you wouldn't feel the bigger bumps as easily if your finger was small and narrow."

"See what I mean?" Harry huffed, "Thank Merlin I have medium sized fingers. You, Draco, probably have dainty little digits."

Draco made an indignant sound, "Are you saying I have girl hands?"

Harry grinned at him and reached out to pat Draco's slightly bigger hands. "No, I'm just saying you don't seem like a person with rough hands like me." He gave Draco's hand a squeeze before returning to hold his book.

Heat crept up Draco's pale cheeks when Harry touched him without any hesitation. The brunet's hand was warm against his and contrary to what Harry had said, the green eyed teen's skin wasn't rough; it was… comforting.

"Potter, you do not have rough hands…" Draco muttered as he stared down at his own. "Are your… are they more sensitive to touch now?"

Harry was poking at the dots on the page when Draco asked him that question. He looked up again and nodded his head.

"Yeah, they are. My fingers are so sensitive now that sometimes touching warm water hurts." Harry grinned, "Pretty stupid huh? I can get burned from warm water."

Draco rolled his eyes and cuffed Harry's shoulder, "That's the way our bodies work, it's not stupid."

Harry laughed and moved closer to Draco until their thighs touched side to side. Draco stiffened at the contact but relaxed a bit when Harry balanced his book on both of their laps. The brunet turned and gave Draco a small smile.

"I'm tired of doing the alphabets… I have two days till Snape tests me anyway." Harry said, moving the book more on Draco's lap, "Can you find the chapter where they have sentences? I want to see how fast I can read them and you can help me."

"Alright," Draco nodded and flipped to the chapter with short, easy sentences. Once he found the page, Draco read over some of the sentences. "Ah, they're not that bad. I think you'll do fine Harry. Go slowly."

The blond placed the book back on Harry's lap; the green eyed teen moved his fingers to the top of the page and found the first sentence.

"I…" Harry smiled and moved his finger to the next cluster, "h-a… Uhm… is the next letter a 'v'?"

Draco moved his head and peered over Harry's finger then looked down at his own copy; the word was 'have'. "Mmhmm, it's a 'v', keep going Harry."

"Okay. I have… a c-a… I have a cat!" Harry beamed when he finished with the whole sentence.

Draco chuckled and gave the smaller teen a pat on the back. Harry was acting like a young child that learned how to ride a broom. But, this also meant that Harry wasn't giving up and Draco took that as a good sign. They continued reading the short sentences, only pausing when Harry wasn't sure of the letters. Draco read along with Harry, brushing his own finger over the bumps. As Harry babbled next to him, Draco thought of doing the lessons with the brunet and asking his godfather to test him on it as well. He wanted to be near Harry as much as possible and by learning Braille with Harry, there would be plenty of opportunities.

Draco was on the next page when the teen next to him let out a huge yawn. He stopped reading and glanced at Harry who was rubbing his nose.

"Are you tired? We can stop and continue later," Draco offered; Harry shook his head.

"Nah, it's alright. I'll just… rest a bit. Snape woke me up early this morning…" Harry then let out another yawn, "Yeah… I think I'll just lean back and rest. Wake me up in ten minutes…"

"Sure, I'll just continue read--" Draco stopped when a soft snort sounded. He turned and found Harry already fast asleep. "Silly Gryffindor… You need more than ten minutes." Draco smiled and went back to reading.

Draco was immensely concentrated on the tiny dots in the book when he heard shuffling next to him. Before he could react, Harry's upper body slid sideways and his head fell on Draco's shoulder; Harry continued to snore. Rolling his eyes, Draco closed the book; they wouldn't be doing anymore reading today, seeing how Harry was dead to the world.

Draco moved his head a little until he could see the front of Harry's face. The blond took in the slightly parted mouth, so red and inviting. Draco had to press his lips tightly together to prevent the groan that was fighting its way out of his mouth. Grey eyes traveled higher and landed on the closed eyes. Draco noted that Harry had thick eyelashes. Messy, dark brown tresses covered Harry's forehead, obscuring the lightning-bolt scar. Draco smiled warmly and brushed the fringes away from Harry's eyes. The brunet chose that moment to move and snuggled his face deeper into Draco's upper arm.

Draco was surprised that Harry didn't wake up to the sound of his beating heart; it was thumping so hard that Draco felt it thud against his chest. He sighed and after checking to see if Harry was still asleep, Draco planted a soft kiss on top of Harry's head.

'_If only time stand still… Then I can stay like this forever.'_

* * *

Harry groaned and unconsciously pressed his nose deeper to what he thought was his pillow.

'_Smells… like vanilla…' _Harry thought and he sighed and rubbed the tip of his nose on the cloth of his 'pillow'.

"I'm glad you like my shirt so much Harry."

Realization hit Harry like a bucket of ice, cold water.

'_Crap.'_

Harry pushed himself away from Draco so fast that his head spun.

"So-sorry… I didn't… Fuck." Harry stammered; his hands flew to his hair—a nervous reaction—and tugged. "How… How long did I uhm…"

"About an hour," Draco answered; he was amused that Harry was acting this way, "You slept like a rock."

"Why didn't you wake me up!?" Harry asked, fingers still embedded in his hair, "And Merlin… I used your arm as a pillow… Didn't it go numb?"

Draco smirked. Yes, his arm was indeed numb where Harry laid his head, but Draco just didn't have the heart to wake up the previously sleeping Gryffindor. It was the only chance Draco had to watch that peaceful expression. So serene, so… beautiful. Of course, with his Malfoy pride, Draco wasn't about to say all that to the person of his affections. Namely, one Harry Potter.

"You were tired, and I thought you deserved some rest so I just let you sleep. Don't think I'll be so nice next time you fall asleep on my arm." Draco sneered, but in a friendly way; there was no venom in his words. "I would push you off next time you do that."

Harry let out a nervous laugh and released his hair, "So I'm guessing it's well into the afternoon now is it?"

"Yeah, Severus came by and found you sleeping," Draco shrugged and absently smoothed out his shirt.

"Snape was here?!" Harry asked, eyes wide. "Oh shit! Did he say anything?! He probably thinks I'm slacking on my job. I bet you he's going go hard on me when he tests me…"

Draco chuckled, "Potter, would you calm down? He saw you sleeping, on my arm if I might add, and told me that he was going to a meeting with the Order. He said something about the Headmaster sending him a message about an immediate meeting."

"The Order? Oh. Right. Snape had to… Yeah." Harry muttered and then he slumped forward, "I just want all of this to be over… So many lives were lost because of this stupid war. I just feel like… all of my training before has gone for naught. How can I fight?! I can't even aim properly… Hell, I might hit somebody on our side all because I can't see!" Harry spat, his hands gripped his knees tightly that the knuckles had turned white.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows at the distraught state Harry was in. Hesitantly, he reached over and took Harry's hand in his. Draco gave Harry a reassuring squeeze.

"Harry… Look, I know you're really… upset right now. But, remember, my godfather will teach you how to fight." Draco said softly, his hand still intertwined with Harry's. The brunet didn't seem like he noticed. "I know it's going to be hard but I know you can do it. You already have the knack of fighting with magic, you just can't see that's all. But you shouldn't let that hinder you."

Harry nodded slowly. Draco was right of course. There's no need to worry. But Harry knew time was running short. He wasn't going to mention about having another nightmare last night. There was no need to worry Draco. He would just have to tell Snape about it. When Harry felt a fingertip brushing his knuckles, Harry let out a small gasp and pulled his hand away. He didn't even notice they were holding hands... Not that he was complaining.

"Uh… Yeah. I'm sure Snape will help me." Harry babbled.

'_Harry calm down! You fuckin' blushing like a girl!'_

Draco smirked; he was laughing in amusement inside his head at Harry's tomato colored face. Ah, it only took so little to make Potter nervous, Draco thought.

"He'll be back soon," Draco told the other teen. He stood up from the couch and stretched. "Oh, there was one other thing Severus said while you were asleep." Draco added; he was almost out of the living room, book tucked under his arm.

"What did Snape say?" Harry asked; his head following Draco's movement. He heard the soft footsteps that came from Draco.

"He mentioned that you were drooling like a baby."

Harry let out a shocked gasp as Draco laughed and left the room. The Gryffindor brushed the back of his hand across his mouth and found no residue of saliva. Harry grunted; he had actually believed the blond.

"Damn Malfoy."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Yeah, this chapter is very short o-o I've been sick with the cold; I feel like sleeping every three hours… My nose is all stuffed up and I can't breathe, my eyes feel heavy lol. Well, anyway, hope you all enjoyed reading this short chapter. I hope there aren't many mistakes in it :x I was half conscious as I typed this haha


	8. Chapter 8: Falling Softly

**Disclaimer: -throws down a list- I have listed everything that I OWN. –scans the list- … I OWN NOTHING!! Oh I'm a poor woman D:**

A/N: Blah… MIDTERMS ARE COMING!! –runs around in circles- I've been busy studying and stuff… School sucks :D Enjoy this chapter because it would be awhile until you see the next one xP

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

Draco and Harry sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S- Argh! -falls of the tree branch-

**It's been so freakin hot the past few days here in Cali ;(**

I will be using spells… Sorry if the color beams doesn't match xD Example: _Impedimenta_ – purple beam or _Rictusempra _– blue beam lol xP and sorry if I spelled the names wrong :x

**Chapter 8: Falling Softly**

Two days later—in the morning—Harry was pacing around in his room, muttering under his breath about 'dancing dots'. He had woken up to a dream where Snape was giving Harry quiz after quiz on Braille. It was more of a nightmare actually; in the dream, Harry was buried head to toe from the given quizzes, and then the bumps flew out from the parchments and began dancing around Harry, all had faces on them. The worst part was that the faces somehow looked like Snape… So with a loud yell, Harry sat straight up, panting, and covered in a cold sweat. Ten minutes later, Harry was walking around in his room.

"Just two days… Two days! The dots are already claiming my dreams!" Harry muttered angrily; he was pulling on his hair, "I don't give a damn about dancing dots with faces… I want my old, nice dreams."

'_And just what are your nice dreams?'_ A small voice nagged inside Harry's head, '_Are they dreams of Malfoy by any chance? Hm?'_ The tiny voice snickered.

Harry released his hair and pressed his index fingers on his temples. "No… Not about… Draco. Oh hell…"

Harry thought back to the beautiful blond hair, cool grey eyes, the blemish-free skin he dreamed about a few nights ago… Harry groaned. Oh he was dreaming about Draco alright. Not last night though, last night was a dream of swirling dots.

"If only they were real… I would squeeze the daylights out of them! Or… Or just smash them with my hands!" Harry said annoyingly. With a huff, Harry treaded his way to the bathroom, the whole time complaining about Braille being a pain in the arse.

* * *

"Draco, is it really necessary for you to take the quiz as well?" Snape asked, taking a sip of coffee; Draco frowned and jabbed his fork into his plate of scrambled eggs.

"I told you, Uncle Severus. I want to do it. Just… let me." Draco mumbled and pushed his eggs around in the plate.

'_I just want to be near Harry…'_

"Would you at least tell me why you've taken interest in Braille all of a sudden?" Snape asked his blond godson. "I'm pretty sure you were never fascinated… before Potter came."

Draco speared a piece of scrambled egg and shoved it into his mouth; damn his godfather for being so… observant. He swallowed the bits of egg before opening his mouth to talk.

"I-I just… I want to learn something new alright?" Malfoy said, "Besides, you tried to make me learn Braille when I was younger."

"Draco, that was years ago," Snape said nonchalantly, "And if I remembered correctly, your exact words were 'Why would I want to learn about stupid dots?'"

Draco sniffed and pushed his plate of breakfast away from him; he was drinking his glass of pumpkin juice when he heard a 'thud' and a string of colorful curses.

"Gah… Stupid couch!" Harry yelled and a moment later a stumbling, limping Potter came into the dining room.

Draco snorted into his glass of juice while Snape remained expressionless, though Malfoy saw the slightest twitch of lips on his godfather's face. Harry had heard Malfoy snort and now wore a scowl. Grumbling, the green eyed teen felt around for a chair, pulled it out, and sat; a plate of breakfast appeared in front of Harry when Severus waved his arm at that direction.

"It's not funny…" Harry frowned, "I still don't have the house layout memorized."

Draco cleared his throat and placed the glass back on the table. "I… wasn't laughing."

"Whatever Draco, I heard you," Harry said, tapping his ear, "Better hearing, remember?"

Draco huffed, "Well I-At least I'm not hobbling around like an old man."

"I was not hobbling around like an old man!" Harry said indignantly; he felt around for the flatware. "I stubbed my toe… I think my toenail came off…" Harry grumbled and started on his bacon strips.

"Aww… Do you want me to kiss it better?" Draco asked cheekily, his silver eyes gleamed.

Harry blushed and ducked his head, "Shut up…" The corners of Harry's mouth were curved upward.

Snape rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the dinner table. "Now… if you two are done bickering…" Severus paused and turned to look at Harry, "Potter, are you ready for your first quiz? I want to know where you are and see what areas you need help on."

Harry swallowed and laid his fork and knife next to his plate. "I uhm… I'm not sure Professor…" Harry said hesitantly, "I still feel like I haven't gotten anything down."

"That's what the quiz is for," Snape drawled and stood up from his seat, "Go to the living room after you're done." Severus then smirked at his godson, "You too, Draco."

"You're taking the quiz, too?" Harry asked once he heard Severus walking out of the dining room. Draco nodded but when he saw Harry tilting his head towards him, Draco mentally smacked his head.

"Er… Yeah."

"Oh… I'm sure you'll do way better than me… and you don't really need to know Braille." Harry muttered and hung his head. "It's hopeless."

Draco sighed and moved his chair closer to Harry—the brunet had taken a seat next to him—and patted Harry's shoulder consolingly.

"Harry…" Draco said; Harry jerked his head up and trained his eyes in the direction of Malfoy's voice. "Look, it's not hopeless… maybe you just need to find better ways to learn it. I told you before… I'll help you if you want me to."

Harry smiled crookedly, "Is that why you're taking the quiz as well? So that you can learn with me?"

'_I have other reasons Harry…'_ Draco thought. "I'm doing something nice for you, Potter, deal with it." Draco said that out loud.

Harry chuckled, "I'm not sure if I'll ever be use to a nice Draco Malfoy."

"Too bad, Potter." Draco smirked and stood up, taking his plate with him. "Hurry up or Severus is going to give you extra work."

Harry's smile disappeared and his whole body deflated. "I know Snape's going to give me more work once he sees my test results."

Draco laughed, "Well… then that's too bad."

When the blond heard Harry's offended gasp, Draco rushed out before Harry could throw anything at him.

* * *

Severus stood before his godson and Potter; the blond was calm and collected while the brunet was just plain fidgeting in the sofa, twirling his thumbs. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and then slapped a piece of parchment before each of the teens. Draco cracked his knuckles while Harry reached out when he heard Severus smacked the quiz onto the table.

"You each have a different version of the test," Snape said uncaringly, "They both consist of short sentences, vocabulary, and one short paragraph, but with different wording." Severus conjured up a chair and sat down, across from Harry and Draco. "Just read the short sentences and the terms out loud and I'll tell you how many you got right after you are done with the whole thing, since I'll be marking things down on my paper. For the short paragraph, read as much as you can. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Uncle Severus."

Harry gulped and nodded, his hands gripping his knees.

"Very well. Draco, you can go first." Severus told his godson. Draco closed his eyes and let his fingertips move across the parchment. Snape watched Draco like a hawk, making sure that his eyes weren't open.

"… The… sun is… up in the… sky." Draco said slowly, his brows knitted together in concentration.

Severus smirked and marked his own paper, "Continue."

Draco cleared his throat and went on; Harry sat next to the blond, admiring the way Draco read all the sentences without trouble. Once or twice, Malfoy was stuck with some of the terms but he corrected himself and went on his merry way. Harry sighed and relaxed. Hearing Draco's voice calmed him; Harry smiled lightly as Draco finished reading the short paragraph.

"… and they watched… the sun… hide… behind the hills." Draco finished and opened his eyes. He saw his godfather writing something down. "So how did I do?"

"Not bad, although you misread some words for the short sentences. I suggest you to slow down your fingers while you read; you move them across too quickly." Severus said and looked at Harry. "Potter, are you ready?"

"Y-yes sir…" Harry mumbled; Snape sighed when he saw how nervous Harry was.

"Mr. Potter… Stop worrying. It's just a test, not a duel for life and death."

"I-I…"

"Harry, you'll be fine." Draco said, taking one of Harry's hands and gave it a squeeze. "Come on Potter, I did alright… and I studied with you for the past two days, so don't make my efforts go to waste." Draco chided.

Harry groaned and leaned forward, his fingers ghosting over the parchment. With determination set upon his face, Harry began to read.

Draco smiled as Harry read each sentence clearly; his hand continued to hold on to Harry's.

* * *

"That wasn't so bad," Harry said cheerily. He had just finished with his quiz and Snape actually _praised_ him. After telling Harry's problems, Severus left the two teens alone, having to work on something in his private potions lab.

"You were squirming out of your pants, Potter." Draco scoffed.

Harry's face turned crimson. "I had every right to be worried! I'm not you, Draco… It's hard for me."

"But you did fine anyway," Draco said consolingly, "Even Severus said you did pretty well."

Harry chuckled, "I thought I was dreaming when Snape said I did well on my first quiz."

"Yeah…" Draco scratched his face absently, "I thought so, too."

Both teens turned to face each other and laughed. They both sobered and fell into a comfortable silence. Suddenly, Draco shot up from the sofa and grabbed Harry's arm.

"Come with me, Harry. I'll take you to the 'battle room'."

Harry let himself be pulled up and tried his best to keep up with Draco's fast pace as they made their way to the so called 'battle room'.

"Battle room? What the hell is that?" Harry asked, breathlessly; he and Draco were practically running.

"Harry, are you really _that_ thick?" Draco asked; laughter laced his voice. "The battle room is exactly what the name suggests. It is where we battle."

Harry's eyes widened comically and stopped. Draco, who wasn't aware of the sudden stop, was pulled back towards the smaller teen.

"Why are we going there?" Harry asked, a bit angry. Where the anger came from, he didn't know. "You know I can't battle! I can't see, Draco! What if I hit you with too much power? I don't want to hurt--"

"You're not." Draco cut in; he smiled at the way Harry was biting bottom lip. Harry was really worried. "The walls are charmed to absorb any badly aimed spells and hexes. Also, Severus made it so that our magical levels are weakened. Therefore, our magic is at the level of a first year."

"Seriously?" Harry asked, "You… You're not saying that just to calm me down are you?"

"No, I'm not lying." Draco said solemnly, "I've used that room before… to vent my anger. I tried to throw hexes at the walls but they just disappeared once it touched the surface, not to mention that my energy level was lowered. I guess Severus doesn't want his house to crumble."

Harry laughed, "Well, I sure hope so. If his house topples over, we have nowhere to stay."

"Well, you don't have to worry your pretty little head about that," Draco smirked and once again pulled Harry with him.

The blond was walking so fast that Harry didn't have the time to remember how many turns they made. He only knew they were there when Draco announced it. Harry heard the creaking of the door as Draco pushed it open, and had felt the draft of cold air as they walked in. The green eyed teen assumed they were now in the lower levels of Snape's house.

"Are we in the room?" Harry asked, his voice echoing. Draco replied by pulling Harry closer to him.

"Stay here Harry while I light some candles," Draco released Harry's arm and walked away, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the vast area. "We're underground, that's why it feels cold in here. There are no windows and the walls around us are also sound proof. If we screamed or something, Severus wouldn't be able to hear." Draco informed as he used his wand to light the candles situated in a standing candle rack—it looked like a clothes rack but whatever.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to use this room?" Harry asked, "I mean, what if Snape's looking for us right now and couldn't find us? We'll be in a whole lot of trouble." Harry mumbled as he shifted his weight to his other foot.

Harry only heard Draco grunt vaguely; he sighed and wrapped his arms around himself. It was cold; Harry could feel the chills creeping up his spine. Shuddering, Harry hugged himself tighter. His ears perked up at the sounds of rustling and the sputtering of the flames as Draco lit more candles. Harry could almost see Draco walking around, pointing his wand at unlit candles.

"There, all done." Draco announced as he walked back to where Harry was huddling. "Are you cold?"

Harry jerked his head up and sent Malfoy a small smile. "Just a bit… Can I stand near the light? I… feel a bit chilled."

"Sure…" Draco shrugged and led the blind teen over to one of the candle racks. "The rack is on your right so whatever you do, don't jump in that direction when we start battling. Even if the room is sound proof, it's not fire proof."

"Are you sure we should do this, Draco?" Harry asked as the blond let his arm go, "I really don't think it's a great idea… Maybe we should wait until Snape gives me a lesson on battling…"

'_And I doubt the greasy git wants a burned down house.'_

"Stop it, Potter." Draco drawled; he was standing at the other side of the room, at least eight feet apart from Harry. "You know what? I'll let you fire the first spell first."

Harry gulped and reached in his jean pocket to take out his holly wand. He grasped it in his shaking hand and hoped he was pointing it at anything _but_ Draco. Harry seriously thought he shouldn't be dueling right now.

"Harry, you're pointing your wand at the ground five feet away from me," Draco said exasperatedly; he saw the way Harry was standing and knew right away the smaller teen was scared as hell. "Look, why don't I do the firing and you do the defending. Can you do that at least?"

Harry let out a sigh of relief and nodded; he straightened his body and face in the direction where he heard Draco's voice. Potter lowered his wand a fraction of an inch and gripped the thin piece of wood tightly, just in case Malfoy decided to disarm him.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco sneered; once those words were out of his mouth, Draco thought back to their second year.

Harry smiled, remembering those words as well.

"You. Wish."

Draco smirked and began walking around, "You know, Potter, enemies will _never_ stay still at one spot. They are always moving. I'm going to make things a bit harder… I'm going to walk around, try and find me Harry."

"Wh-what!?" Harry exclaimed, his wand hand dropping a bit more. "Draco! I'm not worried that I will get hit… I'm worried about… hurting you." Harry said worryingly. "Not being able to see… I can hit anywhere! Your arms, your legs, your chest… Don't do this…"

"You came here to train, Harry." Draco snapped, "Do you expect Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself will stand still for you to hit them?"

Harry's head followed the sound of Draco's voice and shook his head. The blond smirked and stood still.

"If you understand that… then why not start now? I'm not Snape, I'll go easy on you. When my godfather does start training you… you'll be a bit more ready."

Harry sighed and moved his wand up again, "Alright. Fine. Just… be careful Draco."

"Good. Are you ready, Potter?" Draco asked; Harry nodded and his face was of pure concentration. "… Let's begin."

Draco started walking around the brunet, his footsteps were soft. Harry pivoted in one spot, his ears trained on the soft footsteps Draco was making. He can hear them coming closer then moved farther away. The soft rustling of clothes… the scent of vanilla. Harry smelled that scent the strongest when he was facing his left. Harry turned in that direction; Draco smiled when he saw Harry following his every movement, most of the time the green eyed teen was actually facing him.

"You're doing really well Harry. You actually can follow my movements." Draco praised. Harry let out a nervous chuckle.

"You're going to laugh at me when I say that I'm following your scent." Harry blushed, "You smell like vanilla, Draco."

"Potter, don't rely on your nose. People are not going to wear one specific perfume for you." Draco said, "Concentrate on hearing the hums of people's magic. Block out everything else, even the sound of your own breathing and see if you can hear the soft hums of my magic."

"I-I never--"

"Don't say you never tried. Try now." Draco said firmly and he saw Harry stop spinning on one spot, his face relaxed. "Can you hear it? It may be very faint, but it will get strong once you're used to it."

Harry blocked out everything—his own breathing, Draco's footsteps, Draco's scent, and his own beating heart. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. Harry was about to give up when he heard a soft vibration. So small that he almost lost it. Harry zoned in on that hum until it grew a bit louder. Harry gasped when he saw a pulsating blue light. It was very indistinct, but it was there… calling out to him.

It was Draco's magic aura.

"Oh Merlin… I can… I see it Draco! I can see your aura!" Harry cried out suddenly; he frowned when the blue light disappeared. "It's… it's gone…"

"You saw it?" Draco asked, "Was it blue?" Harry nodded affirmatively. "Alright, just focus again; I'll start moving. Don't break your concentration, Harry."

Harry focused again and once more, saw the pulsating blue glow. Only this time, the light was moving around. Harry began to break into a sweat; it was taking a huge amount of energy to pinpoint Draco's aura. Harry followed the moving light, half wishing that it would just stop dancing around in front of him. Suddenly, as if his wish was heard, the blue glow stopped. And then, it flared. Harry gasped as he heard a very loud hum coming from the aura.

"_Rictusempra!"_

Harry spun around to face Draco's aura just in time.

"_Protego!"_ Harry shouted and a red shield erupted from his wand, protecting him from the incoming spell.

The spell Draco fired ricocheted off Harry's shield and hit the ceiling above them. Just like the Slytherin said, the walls absorbed it and left no traces.

Harry felt the jolt when Draco's spell hit his shield; he gasped out and his concentration broke. Harry sank to his knees and his wand rolled out from his hand. Draco rushed over and kneeled before the tired teen.

"Harry… Harry, are you alright?!" Draco asked; he grasped both of Harry's shoulders and supported him. Harry looked up, his eyes unblinking. Draco almost whimpered at the exhausted look on Harry's face.

"… I did it, Draco… I did--" Harry smiled before he slumped forward and into Draco's arms.

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and moved until they were both sitting on the cold, stone floor. The blond cradled Harry, as if the brunet would break. Draco looked down and saw how pale Harry was. Without any hesitancy, Draco dropped a kiss on Harry's dry, cold lips.

"You did it Harry… I'm proud of you."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Er… This is a very, very late chapter! D: I apologize! T-T Please don't hunt me down… I-I promise I'll work harder! –hides-

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! thanks for reading :D


	9. Chapter 9: Poorly Disguised Love

**Disclaimer: You know what goes here. I've been putting the same thing everytime. I own nothing! **

A/N: First kiss… too bad Harry was unconscious :P Let the love grow!

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

The weather is whack. Hot one day, cold the other. It's so easy to get sick :x

**For those that read my other story, "At Your Doorstep" I am now high off of chocolate :D I need it to keep me going haha.**

I'm going to work on Draco and Harry's relationship with each other now. I mean, it's the ninth chapter… something should happen. Right? ;D

**Chapter 9: Poorly Disguised Love**

Harry groaned; his whole body felt weak. It was as if he had been doing strenuous exercises for the past hour without stopping. He twisted his head to the side and collided with something solid yet it felt warm at the same time. Harry slowly opened his eyes and heard a sigh of relief.

"Harry… Are you feeling alright?"

That's when Harry remembered he had fainted after he effectively deflected the spell Draco fired at him.

'_Am I lying on Draco's…? SHIT!'_

"Oh god… I'm sorry Draco," Harry apologized and sat up; he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand.

"Do you feel lightheaded? Should you even sit up so fast?" Draco shot out, "You still seem kind of pale Harry, maybe you--"

Harry laughed and moved his body until he was sitting next to Draco, shoulders touching.

"I'm fine Draco… I'm really sorry for sleeping on your legs for… I don't know how long. Must be painful and numb."

Draco flapped his hand at Harry, "I'm not that cruel to let you lay on the stone floor. Besides, it's my fault in the first place. I forced you to work yourself over the limit."

"I'm glad you did actually. Now, I know I _can_ 'see' people. In a way." Harry smiled and searched for Draco's hand. He found it and took it in his and gave Draco's slightly bigger hand a squeeze before letting go.

Draco blushed lightly when Harry held his hand, even if only for a few seconds. He was partially glad that Harry couldn't see his blush or the brunet would probably laugh at him.

"If… If you want, we can come down here and practice secretly." Draco offered, "That is… if you want to." There was a hopeful tone to his voice.

'_Say yes Harry, say yes…'_

"But… Wouldn't Snape find out?" Draco's face immediately fell. As if Harry sensed the change of his expression, the brunet turned to face him. "I don't mean that I don't want to practice with you Draco. God, I wish we can do this everyday."

Harry beamed at him and Draco felt his heart fluttered. Harry truly had a beautiful smile, the way his emerald eyes shone everytime Harry smiled. Even if Harry couldn't see anymore, his eyes were still bright and lively. Draco cleared his throat and nudged Harry.

"Not everyday Harry, you might get too worked up. How about every other day? That way you will have one day to rest and my godfather wouldn't be suspicious." Draco said, "If we disappear for hours everyday, he'll know we're doing something."

"Yeah… you're right." Harry murmured, "Guess we should head back upstairs. How long was I out?"

Draco pushed himself off the floor and helped the blinded teen up. He clucked his tongue when he saw bits of spider webs on Harry's shirt; Draco dusted them off with two quick swipes. Harry jerked when Draco's hand smoothed down his back.

"What-what are you doing?" Harry asked, his voice a bit higher than usual.

"There were webs on your back, I took care of it." Draco answered; he felt Harry jerk but thought nothing of it. "And you were unconscious for almost an hour I think. Didn't really check the time… I was too worr--" Draco snapped his mouth shut; he had said too much.

"You were worried about me?" Harry asked, almost shyly. "I didn't know you actually care that much about me."

"Harry, you fainted! You were pale and clammy… for a few minutes you were jerking, like having a seizure, even though you were unconscious!" Draco shot out; he smirked when Harry blushed. "When we train… If you're tired, tell me. Don't push yourself again."

'_My heart couldn't take it… seeing you hurt.'_

"I'm sorry…" Harry said softly, '_Draco was worried…'_ Harry smiled a bit at that thought.

Draco's eyes narrowed when he caught the smile on Harry's face.

"What are you thinking about? You're smiling."

"Huh? Oh nothing," Harry said vaguely, waving his hand around, "Happy that I'm making progress. I'm not useless after all. Shall we go?"

Draco chuckled and took Harry's arm to guide the teen out of the battle room.

"You know, never would I dream that the great Harry Potter would fall right into my arms." Draco said suddenly as they made their way back up to the main floor of Snape's house. "But there you were, falling right on top of me. Good thing too, or you would've cracked your head open."

Harry flushed; he knew Draco was talking about when he had fainted. His heart was beating rapidly inside his chest. He had fallen on _top_ of Draco? God, he didn't remember _that _part. Harry cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment and walked a bit faster; he was falling behind since Draco was walking briskly.

"Well, my hero," Harry said cheekily and pressed his body closer to Draco's. Harry almost laughed out in glee when he felt Draco stiffened. "How should I ever repay you for saving my head from being cracked opened?"

Draco smirked and stopped walking; Harry, not ready for such a sudden stop, crashed right into Draco. The blond turned around and grasped both of Harry's bony shoulders.

'_Two can play this game Potter.'_

Draco released his hold on Harry's shoulders and slowly, smoothly, moved his hands down Potter's arm; his fingertips grazing on the soft skin. Draco could feel the slight twitching of Harry's muscles as his fingers continued their way down. If it was this fun to tease Harry, Draco should've done it years ago! As Draco's fingers finally made their way down to Harry's trembling hands, he took them and held. When Harry's own fingers automatically intertwined with his, Draco's face broke into a huge smile.

"I know one way you can reward me, Harry." Draco purred.

Harry shivered inwardly. He felt the warm puffs of Draco's breath on his cheek and knew just how close the blond was. Harry can practically taste the vanilla.

"And what would that 'one way' be?" Harry asked, hoping Draco's answer wasn't going to be too absurd.

Draco could almost cackle at how nervous Harry was; he moved in a bit closer until his lips _almost_ touched Harry's flushed ears. The Slytherin was tempted to lick the brunet's small, perfect ear, but that can wait for another day…

"Would you really do it if I told you?" Draco asked; Harry's breath hitched and nodded once. "You would?" Harry nodded again. Draco so wanted to yell out and dance around at that moment.

"But… But nothing too weird Draco… Like making me your slave for a whole month or something." Harry muttered.

"What about for a week?" Draco teased; he smiled when Harry opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "Okay… I'm not going to make you my slave Harry, don't worry."

"O-Okay…" Harry gulped, "So what's it going to be?"

Draco moved away from Harry's ear and faced Harry; he leaned in until he could see the splashes of freckles on Harry's cheekbones.

"Let me kiss you. One kiss, Harry, and that's it." Draco murmured near Harry's opened yet unseeing eyes. Harry blinked rapidly and Draco swore he felt the smaller teen's eyelashes brushed against his lips. Yes, they were _that_ long.

"You kiss me?" Harry squeaked. '_Oh my god… Tell me I'm not dreaming!'_

"Yes, just one. That's all I ask for…" Draco whispered and moved back from Harry's face. He could see Harry's emerald green orbs dancing around, a sure sign of nervousness. "If you don't want to… it's fine."

"No! Uh… I mean… I'll do it." Harry babbled, "A kiss isn't too bad…" Harry let out a shaky laugh and immediately, felt his face heat up.

The first thing that came into Draco's mind was that Harry looked really… cute when he blushed. Cute because Draco failed to come up with another word. When Harry began to chew on his bottom lip, Draco knew he was gone. He must kiss Harry.

"I'm not going to force you… If you don't want to do this, say so." Draco said softly, his eyes bore into Harry's. "I'll think of something else."

Harry puffed out his chest and his face was set. His eyes moved up and down, as if searching Draco's face… as if he could see. Harry shook his head and stepped closer to the taller teen. He tilted his head up slightly and smiled.

"I'm not backing down… do it." Harry murmured.

"Alright…" Draco breathed and lowered his lips, slowly, to Harry's parted ones. His silver colored eyes never left Harry's pink, full lips. So damn kissable!

Harry could feel Draco's breath on his lips. He inched his face closer and closer… His eyes fluttered close and Harry waited for that moment to happen. The moment the guy of his dreams would kiss him. Finally, his dream came true.

_Beautiful_. The word danced across Draco's mind when Harry's eyes closed and those long, dark eyelashes fanned out and framed Harry's eyelids. The brunet's eyes were no long swollen or irritated. If anything, Draco thought Harry's eyes looked normal. If he didn't know about the accident, Draco would never guess Harry was blind. But no matter… no matter whether Harry was blind or not, Draco like... no _loved_ him. Yes, he loved Harry. He chuckled when Harry scowled and puckered his lips. At least Harry wasn't revolted by the idea, Draco thought. The blond moved in for the kill and…

Their lips met.

* * *

Harry was sure he felt a small shock when Draco brushed lips with him. He whimpered and parted his mouth, just a little.

'_Harry! You're going to scare Draco away!'_

Draco had felt Harry parting his lips and took that as a good sign. He put a bit more pressure and kissed Harry more deeply. Not wanting to scare Harry, Draco felt this was a good time to stop and pull away. Of course, he didn't want to but… there were more chances in the future.

Harry was breathless when Draco's lips were not on top of his anymore. He licked his just kissed lips, savoring Draco's taste. Harry could feel how hot his face was and groaned. He was like a girl being kissed the first time… Well, it _was _his first time.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing…"

"Do you regret kissing me?" Draco asked, his face was crestfallen.

"No!" Harry said, "It's just… I-It's the first time… I uhm…"

From crestfallen to amusement, Draco smiled. He knew what Harry was saying. The blond took a step closer to Harry and hooked arms with him.

'_So Harry isn't straight as a pin as I thought he was… Thank Merlin for that.'_

"So how was it then? Your first kiss was from me and not the girl of your dreams." Draco said airily, teasing the smaller teen; they were walking again and Harry was biting on his bottom lip once more.

"Don't fancy girls…" Harry mumbled then turned to flash a wide grin for Draco, "And your kiss wasn't bad; it's passable."

"Passable?!" Draco sniffed, "I'll have you know my kisses are more than _passable._"

"Sure Draco," Harry chuckled; Draco huffed and pulled Harry around a corner and started walking straight. "Where are we going?" Harry asked; he was almost skipping to keep up with the blond.

"Going upstairs," Draco replied, "I think Severus is still down in his lab. Best not to bother him… you know how he is."

"Of course," Harry rolled his eyes and went up the stairway. When he realized they had turned right instead of left, Harry panicked. "Where are we—my room's on the left."

"I know that; we're going to my room." Draco tugged Harry's arm and the brunet almost reluctantly followed.

Draco pushed opened the mahogany door and stepped inside, holding the door wider so that Harry wouldn't bump into it. He closed the door gently behind them once Harry almost cautiously walked in with Draco. The Slytherin smiled when Harry huddled closer him like a scared child.

"Well, my bed is on your right side," Draco started explaining to Harry, "If you walk straight forward for about fifteen steps, you'll come upon my bureau. On your left is a wall lined with shelves. It's mostly books of… everything. Some on Potions, some on spells, charms, defensive spells, and whatnot. I read them when I'm bored." Draco dragged Harry until they were by the couches; he moved Harry to stand in front of the couch. "You can sit, I have two sofas in here, a coffee table, and a fireplace."

Harry sat down and Draco followed suit; the green eyed teen blinked owlishly.

"Your room is huge! You even have a fireplace! I bet it's almost as big as the Gryffindor common room…" Harry mused, "It sure sounds like it."

"It's almost the same as yours," Draco shrugged; he cast a sidelong glance at Harry and scooted over till their thighs were touching. "Where does this take us Harry?" Draco asked.

"What?" Harry looked shocked and confused at the same time. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… the kiss… everything." Draco murmured, "I'm not going to lie… I fancy you, Harry."

There was no turning back now. Maybe it was too early, but now, it's too late. The words were out of Draco's mouth and what was said, was said.

Harry took in a deep breath, kept it in for five seconds, and then let it out loudly. Maybe he should get his ears checked… There was no way in hell that Draco had said he _fancied_ him. Him, Harry Potter, out of all… males.

When Harry took too long to answer, Draco's face fell. He knew it was all his own wishful thinking. Harry wouldn't like him. Draco sighed and took Harry's hand.

"I'm sorry for telling you… I just… I just want to get it out. Well, now you know. Sorry." Draco muttered and let go of Harry's hand. He was about to stand up and leave Harry alone when the brunet's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Draco looked down at their joined area then looked up at Harry; the brunet was frowning.

"Where are you going Draco?" Harry's frown deepened, "You're leaving, just like that?"

"I-You need some time alone… to recover from the shock." Draco assumed; Harry's frown turned into a scowl and pull on Draco's wrist to indicate to the blond that he should sit closer.

"I am a bit… surprised." Harry said slowly, "But what you just said, is it true? You fancy me? It's not some joke right?"

"No! No, it's not Harry." Draco said hurriedly when Harry's face became wary. "I do fancy you… for quite awhile actually." The blond covered their joined hands with his free one. "I like you Harry. I really do, no joke."

Harry smile was small at first, then it grew and brightened; Draco's heart fluttered. He really loved Harry's smiles.

"So… you're alright with it? You're not… disgusted are you?" Draco asked; Harry shook his head frantically at once.

"Never! I-I'm pleased really." Harry gave Draco a cheeky smile. "Guess my dreams came true after all."

"How so?" Draco heart had begun beating faster when Harry said he wasn't disgusted. Now, Draco felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Because… I er…"

"Harry… just say it. I think I'm going to die here." Draco whined.

Harry laughed and cuffed Draco's arm; his fingers tightened around Draco's hand. He just remembered they were still holding them together.

"I… like you Draco. More than you know."

Draco's heart stopped… and burst with happiness.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Lol! Yeah I know, crap ending. I do that from time to time. Then I get yelled at from my readers xD I'm sorry this chapter is short compared to my previous ones. But I promise, the next one will be longer D: So their relationship is developing now; I'm so happy for Draco and Harry ;P

Thanks for reading! :D


	10. Chapter 10: What Are We Now?

**Disclaimer: You know what goes here. I've been putting the same thing everytime. I own nothing! **

A/N: Ah… sorry for taking so long to update this story. I've been doing things out of order lol. Then, I have this research paper I'm working on for my English class ;x Okay, so Draco and Harry both confessed their _undying_ love to each other and it seems that they are both accepting it. Duh.

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

-passes out brownies to all reviewers-

**Chapter 10: What Are We Now?**

_I like you Draco…_

His breathing became labored as the words that just came out from Harry's mouth sunk in. Harry had a worried expression upon his face; his hand reached out and carefully, his fingers danced across Draco's face.

"Draco? Are you alright?" Harry asked, the fingers continued to skim along Draco's jaw line. "You sound like you're having an asthma attack."

Harry's voice brought Draco back to the world of reality; he took hold of Harry's skimming fingers and kissed each one softly. He smiled when Harry blushed.

"I'm alright…" Draco whispered; he tugged and Harry shifted until his head was resting on Draco's shoulder. "Now tell me, what the hell is asthma."

Harry laughed and turned his head to nuzzle the soft skin of Draco's neck.

"It's a Muggle respiratory problem. When Muggles have asthma, they have trouble breathing when they have an attack."

"I see…" Draco murmured; he stroked Harry's head tenderly. Harry sighed contently and just relished in the feeling Draco was giving him. When Draco stopped stroking, Harry moved away from the blonde's neck.

"Something's in your mind isn't it?"

"Oh… I'm just thinking… What exactly are we right now?" Draco turned a bit in the sofa and cradled Harry's face in his hands. "My boyfriend? My lover?" Draco smirked when Harry's eyes widened at the last word.

"Well-uhm-I…" Harry stuttered; he felt his cheeks heat up.

Draco chuckled and pulled the brunet to his chest; Harry let the blond do so and then pressed his cheek on Draco's solid chest.

"Harry, you have to trust me on this. I love you. I know we're in the middle of a war… and there's no time for us to fool around. But I promise you, once this is all over, we will become a true couple. But for now, I would be honored if I may call you my boyfriend." Draco said.

Harry was ecstatic. He moved away and tilted his head up until his lips met Draco's. Harry applied a soft pressure on those lips and moaned when Draco answered his kiss. When they pulled away, Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and kissed Draco's jaw.

"You may, Draco." Harry said softly; Harry felt Draco smiled since he was so close to his face. "You've just given me another reason to defeat Voldemort as soon as possible. The sooner I get rid of him, the sooner we can be together without worries."

Draco chuckled, which in the process made his shoulders shook. Harry's head bounced along, but he didn't mind.

"Just remember, I'll always be by your side." Draco said to the brunet, "Promise me though, promise me you won't be reckless and get yourself killed in the war. I would be devastated and I wouldn't know what I--"

Harry bit Draco's earlobe and suckled on it; all words that were about to come out from the blonde's mouth stopped abruptly. Instead, Draco let out a soft groan.

"Tease." Draco muttered; Harry smirked and kissed the shell of Draco's ear.

"You were babbling, Draco dear." Harry whispered and nipped the soft flesh of Malfoy's earlobe again.

Draco growled and gently pushed Harry until the brunet was laying on the sofa, his legs and feet automatically settled on top of the plushy couch. Harry laughed a bit when Draco lowered himself and started kissing every inch of Harry's face. First his chin, his cheeks, his lips, nose, eyelids, eyebrows, and finally Draco ended his kisses on Harry's lightning bolt scar. The Gryffindor shivered when Malfoy's soft lips landed on his scar; he experienced a tingling sensation when lips met scar.

At this moment, Harry hated himself. He hated not being able to see Draco's face; not being able to see those beautiful silver eyes looking right at him. All he could do now was to feel the texture of Draco's hair, hear his voice, and smell something that's just plainly Draco. Harry then wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and pulled the blond lower.

"I want to see your face… Everything. I hate it that I can't," Harry murmured; his eyes began to water and Harry blinked a few time to stop the tears but to no prevail.

Draco inched his face forward and kissed those cascading tears away. "Then you need to learn to have your hands 'see' for you. Touch my face, the structure of it all. Slowly you will learn that you can see, not with your eyes, but with your mind and heart."

"I know… but still… I want to see the real you, not some conjured up picture in my head!" Harry turned away and let his tears drip down to the sofa.

"Harry…" Draco said softly and cupped Harry's tear-stained cheeks; he moved the brunet's face until Harry was facing up again. Harry sniffed loudly and he closed his eyes when Draco pressed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"I just wish… I wish the accident never happened." Harry whispered dejectedly.

Draco brushed his thumb across Harry's cheekbone and then laid his forehead against Harry's.

"If it never happened… Severus wouldn't have taken you to help you train. You wouldn't be here and I'm pretty sure I would never have the chance to tell you how I feel." Draco whispered softly into Harry's ear; he was lying perfectly on top of the brunet, his head placed next to Harry's.

Harry laughed weakly and held Draco closer to him; he didn't care that the weight of Draco's body was crushing him. Harry welcomed the weight; it was warm and comforting.

"I guess that's a good thing then…" Harry murmured; he smiled when Draco nuzzled his neck.

"I would say so."

* * *

With all the snuggling and kissing over and done with, both teens decided that it was time to emerge from Draco's room. After taking at least five minutes for Draco to straighten out both his and Harry's clothes, the blond took Harry's hand and guided the blinded teen outside. They were walking back towards the staircase when Snape happened to be going up the stairs. His eyes narrowed; being a spy for the Light had led him to become extremely observant. So when Snape saw his godson's slightly red earlobe and Potter's wrinkled shirt, he knew something was going on.

"Where were you two? I've been looking for Potter for the past ten minutes!" Snape bit out harshly.

Draco flinched while Harry visibly stiffened; the blond cleared his throat to get rid of the lump forming. Draco pulled the smaller teen closer him; Harry took the cue and half-hid behind Draco's body.

"We were uh… in my room," Draco told the Potions Master.

"Doing _what_?" Snape pressed.

Draco fidgeted on the spot; Harry flushed and let out a small squeak before ducking behind Draco's head. Severus sneered at the teens' nervous state. His eyes traveled down to their joined hands and knew right there and then what had happened in Draco's room. Add the wrinkled shirt from Potter and his godson's red earlobe… anybody can put all those pieces together and be able to come up with the answer.

Snape shook his head and held out his hand, gesturing to the blond to stop fidgeting.

"Stop, just stop. I don't _want_ to know what you two were doing in there." Snape drawled, "I don't care whether you two were fighting or making out, I just want my house to be in one piece and see that it doesn't affect your studies Potter."

As if he actually saw Snape looking at him when the older man said the last couple of words, Harry nodded fervently from behind Draco's head. Malfoy let out the breath he was holding for the last ten seconds and nodded as well.

"I-We… Yeah… Okay Uncle Severus." Draco said choppily; he looked at his godfather and smiled testily. "I'll make sure Harry will continue his studies; you won't be disappointed."

Snape sneered and continued up the steps. "See that you do." With a curt nod at both teens, Severus walked away, his black robe billowing behind him.

When the door to Snape's room slammed close, Harry relaxed and walked to Draco's front. He laid his head on the blonde's shoulder and chuckled shakily.

"I thought Snape was going to kill us… Wonder how he… you know… realize we're…"

"Together? An item?" Draco offered and wrapped his arms around Harry's lean frame; Harry blushed and nodded. "It's not that hard really. You know how observant he is… Probably saw your wrinkled shirt and messy hair." Harry huffed and cuffed Draco's arm.

The blond smiled endearingly and held Harry tighter. He was glad that his godfather accepted this, them being together and all. There were many more obstacles ahead for both him and Harry, but they will pull through. Together. Draco looked down at the brunet snuggling into his chest and snickered.

"As much as I love to cuddle with you, I prefer we do it sitting down and not standing in the middle of the hallway." Draco whispered into Harry's ear. "Let's go back to my room and you can burrow your face into my shoulder as much as you want."

Harry laughed softly and pulled away from the warm chest offered to him. He reached up and cupped Draco's face; in his mind, Harry pretended he could actually see the blonde's face. Draco was astonished to find Harry's non-seeing green orbs fixed onto his silver colored ones. Even without sight, Harry's eyes were still filled with adoration; they were warm and kind. Draco loved everything about Harry, from the messy nest of hair to Harry's somewhat small feet. When he leaned down to kiss the tip of Harry's nose, the brunet let out a small giggle.

"What are we waiting for then? Take me to your room so I can cuddle with you all I want." Harry said cheekily, "I'm not letting you go any time soon, now that I have you. So you better be prepared to be snuggled with all day and night."

Draco smiled and took hold of Harry's smaller hand. "I don't mind that at all, Harry."

… _Since I'm not letting you go either._

* * *

"Potter, come to the living room." Snape called.

Harry was currently eating his breakfast with Draco as Severus was done eating a few minutes ago. Harry placed his fork down and pushed away from the table; Draco also stopped and helped his boyfriend to the living room where Snape was sitting, his arms crossed and his face, stern. When he saw Draco with Harry, however, his face softened a bit.

"Ah, Draco, would you help Potter to the room?" Snape asked; he stood and started walking towards the 'battle room'.

Draco nodded once and followed his godfather, with Harry in tow. It was a week ago when they first used the room, two days since they last used it. Harry shuffled closer to the taller teen and deliberately slowed Draco down.

"Are we going to the battle room?" Harry whispered so that only Draco could hear. Malfoy slowed his pace and bent his head a little so that he could hear Harry better.

"Yes we are. You've been doing quite well with Braille so I'm guessing Severus thinks it's time for you to move on to battle techniques." Draco twisted his head and laid a soft kiss on Harry's temple.

Harry smiled at the loving gesture and slipped his hand into Draco's, linking their fingers together.

"Should I pretend I haven't practiced at all?" Harry asked his blond boyfriend.

"Of course!" Draco hissed, "You don't want Severus to suspect anything do you? He will have our heads if he realizes that we've been down there practicing without his consent."

"You have a point there…" Harry muttered, "Draco, we should catch up with Snape… He might think something's up. We're walking too slow."

With that, both teens put on some haste to their steps until they were only about three feet away from the Potions Professor. Snape turned around at the sound of quick footsteps and sneered at the young men. After going around corners, they finally went down a set of stairs; Draco held Harry's hand tightly as he led the brunet down. Meanwhile, Harry was busy counting the steps; he never did so when he and Draco went to the room all those previous times.

"Here we are," Snape announced suddenly, causing Harry to jolt. "Draco, bring Mr. Potter to the far back of the room… you know what to do."

"Don't worry Uncle Severus, I'll be sure to put up all the precautions." Draco then pulled Harry inside the room and went to the far back of the room.

"Precautions? What are you talking about?" Harry mumbled; Draco chuckled and released Harry's hand to take out his wand.

"I know we don't really need this… But Severus doesn't know we've been practicing. I'm going to put up Cushion Charms on the walls, in case my godfather sends you flying. Then I'm also going to place a weak shield around you."

"He's not going to--"

"Remember Harry, you are new at this." Draco told the brunet, "You don't know how to dodge… don't know where the spells are coming from. Just one thing Harry: Act dumb."

Harry snorted, "Great advice… Act dumb. Got it." Harry gave Draco a mocking smile.

"Are you two done mumbling over there?" Snape called out from across the room, "Draco, cast the charms."

Draco rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss Harry. "Be careful Harry…" He moved back and pointed his wand at the wall behind Harry, casting a strong cushioning charm. After he was done he walked to the side and nodded at Snape. "All done and cast Uncle Sev."

"Good… Potter, take out your wand and be in ready position." Snape ordered; Harry hastily complied. "Now, I want you to concentrate…"

The hours went on as Snape explained how Harry should concentrate on the vibrations of each spell, how to use his better hearing to his advantage, and focus on deflecting and attacking instead of just dodging and rolling onto the ground. More than once, Harry wanted to fire a spell and knock Snape back but he remembered that he had to play dumb. So instead, he ducked, rolled, and jumped out of harm's way. That was what led Snape on telling him he should stop dodging.

Draco had been watching the training session all the while biting his fingernails. It was a nervous habit and who could blame him for being nervous? Draco watched Harry jumping and rolling to get away from the spells and hexes his godfather was firing. When a stray _Expelliarmus_ grazed the side of Harry's leg, Draco let out a squeak and his heart pounded within his chest. But seeing that Harry wasn't hurt in the slightest, Draco relaxed a bit and went back to chewing his nails.

"Potter! Stop running and do something!" Snape barked, "You cannot win a battle by rolling around on the floor!"

Harry growled and twisted his body to the left; when he heard the hums of a _Rictusempra_ Snape just fired, Harry turned in that direction and made a slashing motion.

"_Expelliarmus!"_

The red beam smashed head on with the spell Severus fired; Harry gritted his teeth and put more power into his own spell. With one final yell, Harry jerked his wand back and with rapid succession, he erected a shield. Snape's spell bounced off and ricocheted to the ceiling, where it was absorbed. Severus smiled thinly and tucked his wand back in his robe. He walked up to where Harry was left panting.

"Well done, Potter. You did quite well for your first try."

"Th-thank you… Sir," Harry said breathlessly; he then felt an awkward pat on his shoulder.

"We're done for today; get some rest." Snape then pivoted and walked briskly out the door.

Draco ran up to his tired boyfriend and supported half of Harry's weight; the brunet gladly welcomed the help and leaned onto Draco.

"I was so worried Severus was going to hurt you…" Draco muttered as he walked Harry to the door. "I think I just chewed up all my fingernails watching you."

"Aw, poor baby…" Harry said softly; Draco clucked and kissed Harry on the forehead.

"Come on you, let's go upstairs so you can rest."

"I think I need a shower… I'm all sweaty." Harry said; he wrinkled his nose, "I smell, too."

Draco laughed, "You want me to help you? You seem too tired to bathe yourself."

Harry blushed and reached behind Draco, pinching the blonde's arse. "Prat."

Draco smiled, "You love me anyway, Harry."

There was a small silence between them before Harry answered.

"Yeah… I do."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Oh… I know I took so long to update this story! Please don't hurt me! Dx If you hurt me… then there wouldn't be an author to write this story… ;)

Thanks for reading!! :D


	11. Chapter 11: The First Time Trying

**Disclaimer: Well, you know what? They're still not mine. I'm sad. Someone please cheer me up. **

A/N: Now… where did I left off last time? Oh yes, Draco telling Harry to act dumb xP I think I have enough chapters of them battling and studying Braille, don't you think? ;D It is time my friends! To bring some **LOVE **into this story! Muwahahahahaha! It's not too early for some Drarry lovin' right? o.O No… of course not. :D It's **NEVER** too early.

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

-gives out some chocolate cookies- :)

**I'm itching to write a new story… But I can't think of a good plot :( I really shouldn't start a new one since I still have three incompletes o-o **

**Chapter 11: The First Time Trying**

Severus had his head down as he silently glided over to the Dark Lord, who was peering down at him through scarlet eyes. A long and pale bony arm extended, calling to Snape. The Potions Master bowed deeply before going down on left knee, his right arm on top of his right thigh. All followers of the Dark Lord always kept their heads down, until Voldemort said otherwise.

"Severussss… My faithful ssservant. Tell me, isss our Sssavior doing quite well?" Voldemort's eyes turned to slits when Snape did not look up, "Look at me when I ssspeak with you."

Severus fought hard not to smirk at his 'Master'; he was also thankful that his Death Eater mask was on. Slowly, he tilted his head up and looked straight into Voldemort's white, pasty face. With a small wave of his hand, Severus' mask vanished.

"My Lord, Potter is well and not aware of your plan. Dumbledore still writes to me every so often, asking about Potter's well being. They know nothing my Lord." Severus' eyes were leveled, looking straight at the white-faced monster in front of him calmly. "The old fool believes it is my interest to keep Potter safe, while in truth I am only serving and loyal to you."

Severus wanted very much to gag right now. That want intensified when the Dark Lord's face split into a light smile. It really was a nasty sight.

Voldemort let out a wheeze that almost resembled a laugh, his yellow teeth bared for all to see.

"Good Sseveruss… Very good. You see, I planned to let our sweet Potter have a bit more time in living. Let'sss just sssay, he have until Chrissmass." Voldemort leaned back against his white, skeleton-made throne; his red eyes were concentrated on Snape. "You will keep Potter sssafe won't you? Ssafe until I kill him once and for all that iss."

Snape lowered his head, his calm still about him. "Of course."

Severus stood up and with one last deep bow before his master, he Disapparated.

* * *

"Surrender!" Draco cried, laughing as he tackled Harry to the bed, but careful not to hurt the smaller teen in any way.

Harry gasped when he felt both of Draco's arms flew around his torso; the force of when the blond rammed at him caused Harry to topple over and onto Draco's bed. Harry laughed audibly when Draco started tickling him relentlessly.

"Oh Merlin… Stop! Stop stop stop!" The blinded teen protested breathlessly; Harry let out an almost girlish squeal when Malfoy's fingers skimmed over his waist. "Draco! You're going to kill me because I can't breathe!" Harry tried to roll to the side but Draco had him pinned.

Malfoy smirked; he _loved_ hearing Harry's laughter. They were music to his ears. Also, he had Harry all to himself; his godfather was gone for one of the Death Eater meetings. When Snape told the boys that he was leaving to see the Dark Lord, Harry was immediately worried about the Potions Master's safety. Having seen Harry's expression, Severus actually gave Potter an awkward pat on the brunet's skinny shoulder. Draco, on the other hand, went up to his godfather and gave the man a brief hug.

Now, it had been an hour since Severus left and Draco had Harry all to himself… Without worrying his godfather was prowling around in the premises.

Draco, cutting Harry some slack, stopped tickling the smaller teen and instead, dropped next to Harry. The Gryffindor giggled softly and rolled to his side, his nose pressed against Draco's neck.

"That wasn't fair… Now you know all of my ticklish spots." Harry tilted his head up, to the point where he thought Draco could see his face, and mock pouted.

Draco chuckled and claimed the other teen's lips; they were soft and warm. He brushed his thumb across Harry's eyelid and smiled when his love scrunched up his face just a bit.

"It's not my fault you're so ticklish, Potter." Draco said, "And do you know you squeal like a girl?"

"I do not!"

Harry huffed and stuck out his bottom lip at Draco. Even if his eyes were useless now, Harry still used them to his full advantage, such as batting them at Draco. He knew his boyfriend just could _not_ resist his round, puppy eyes. Like everytime he did so, Harry was right for Draco groaned and planted a kiss on his pouting lips.

"You, Harry Potter, will be the death of me." Draco said, "How dare you use that against me!"

Harry smiled because he could tell Draco's tone was without heat. "Because I know you would fall for it every time." Harry replied cheekily; he shifted and rolled on top of the blond, who let out a cry of protest.

"Oi! You might be smaller than I am, but you still weigh a bit," Draco chided and cupped his hands behind Harry's head, pulling the brunet down for a kiss.

Harry happily responded to the blonde's kiss. When Draco lightly nipped his bottom lip, Harry groaned and parted his lips. Draco smiled into their kiss and tentatively delved his tongue inside the warm cavern that was Harry's mouth. Hands roamed down Harry's back, fingers curled around the material of the brunet's shirt. At some point, Harry had closed his eyes—even though there wasn't a difference—and his own hands were buried in Draco's soft, blond hair. He massaged the Slytherin's scalp, loving the way the silky platinum hair felt between his fingers. Harry slanted his head and started kissing the corner of Draco's mouth, and then moved on to the blonde's jaw, nipping his way up to Draco's ear.

Draco moaned when he felt Harry's wicked, wicked tongue licking along his jawline. Then he groaned when Harry's lips were nibbling at his earlobe. Damnit that was his sensitive area!

"Harry…" Draco panted; his fingers gripped the dark tresses on Harry's head a bit tighter.

"Hmm?" Harry hummed and unknowingly pressed his hips down, right onto Draco's hardening member.

Draco's eyes rolled to the back of his head and instinctively pushed his hips upward, meeting Harry's. Potter let out a gasp and felt the arousal; he finally realized he had been grounding his hips down onto Draco's growing erection. He bit, not too hard, on Draco's earlobe, eliciting a moan from the blond beneath him.

"S-stop Harry… b-before things ge-eeet out of hand…" Draco gasped; he sucked in a breath when Harry thrust upward. "Oh you evil, evil man…" Draco scrunched up his face as if he was in pain, but of course in reality, it was the complete opposite.

Harry released the soft flesh of the lobe and started planting butterfly kisses on Draco's face.

"Maybe." A nip to Draco's jaw. "I do want things," A hard suck on Draco's pulse point. "To get out of hand…" Harry licked at a spot where he had just bitten.

Draco growled; he wrapped his legs around Harry's and flipped them over, him on top and Harry at the bottom. Harry let out a sigh as Draco began his task of having every inch of Harry's skin kissed. When Draco's lips descended onto Harry's scar, a tingling sensation rippled through Harry's body. Draco noticed the shudder and eased his body up, just a bit.

"What's wrong love? Did I hurt you?" Draco asked; he took in the sight of a flushed Harry and felt his cock twitched. Draco suppressed a groan; his Harry was beautiful.

"Oh. No, no of course not! It's just… when you kissed my scar… it felt nice." Harry blushed and smiled shyly. Draco chuckled and swooped down to kiss Harry's nose.

"So the scar is a sensitive area? I wonder where else you're sensitive…" Draco murmured and slid down Harry's body; his lips making kisses down Harry's face, to his neck.

Harry moaned in pleasure as Draco pressed feathery kisses on his heated skin. As those sinful lips trailed down, Harry writhed; gasps escaped his mouth when Malfoy occasionally nipped him. The brunet let out a particularly loud groan when Draco's hips ground against his arousal.

"Fu-uuuck!" Harry cried; his eyes snapped opened, "Dracooo… You-you... I need... Oooohhh…" Harry's sentence ended with a dragged out moan when Draco bucked his hips.

"Yes love, I know exactly what you need." Draco purred and moved lower, until he was looking down at Harry's chest.

Licking his lips, Draco sat on his knees and with nimble fingers, he unbuttoned Harry's jeans. The brunet's breath hitched when he felt Draco's slightly cold fingers touching the skin above the waistband.

"Draco… What-Are we really…" Harry gulped; he knew his face was red, if the heat was anything to go by.

Draco stopped his ministrations once he heard how nervous Harry was. He crawled up again, placing a gentle kiss upon Harry's still swollen lips.

"I'll stop if you're not ready," Draco murmured; he smiled when Harry blinked at him owlishly. For a second, Draco also wished Harry could see him…

"Oh Draco… Don't get me wrong," Harry bit his bottom lip, "I guess… I'm nervous… It-it's the first time I uh… I'm doing this." Harry faced away from Draco and cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.

'_Great I just told Draco I'm a fucking virgin…'_

Draco chuckled and cupped the side of Harry's face, making Harry facing him again.

"It's alright love, I'll wait until you're ready. I am not going to force you to do something you're not ready for." Draco said reassuringly.

Harry smiled warmly, which in turn made Draco blush. The smaller teen then wrapped his arms around Draco's shoulders, pulling the blond down. Draco sighed contently and rested his head on Harry's broader chest.

"Whenever you're ready… I'll wait." Draco said; he was enjoying the sounds of Harry's steady heartbeat thumping beneath his ear.

Harry smiled; he was quite thankful for Draco's understanding. For sure, he didn't want things to be rushed. Harry felt his heartbeat quicken when he thought of the things he and Draco would do… Oh Merlin. Harry groaned when Draco chuckled; the blond had heard his heart sped up. Harry felt around Draco's head until he reached the neck; he massaged the muscles there, making Malfoy hum appreciatively.

"You know, I consider myself lucky." Harry stated; Draco stopped tracing circles on Harry's chest and tilted his head up a bit.

"Why is that?" Draco questioned; his eyes met Harry's.

"Because I have such an understanding boyfriend…" Harry smiled, "I wonder if he knows that I love him very much."

Draco nuzzled Harry's chest, "Yeah, he knows."

* * *

"So how did the meeting go?" Draco asked his godfather; Snape glared at his godson and took a sip of whiskey he had poured for himself earlier.

All three males were sitting in the living room; Harry and Draco were inside the blonde's bedroom when Snape came back. They had heard the man's mutterings, heavy footsteps, and finally, a door slamming. When Draco had untangled himself from Harry's warm body and poked his head outside, Snape was already going down again, with an agitated air around him—Draco could tell by the way Severus was stomping down the stairway. After taking a few minutes to straighten themselves, both Draco and Harry went downstairs, with Draco leading Harry to the living room.

"Same as always," Severus drawled; he placed his glass down on the coffee table and crossed his leg, fixing his black robes. "The Dark Lord does not suspect a thing, which is what we want."

"So Vol—You-Know-Who still doesn't know that I'm… blind?" Harry asked meekly; he smiled when he felt Draco taking his hand and held it.

Snape saw the gesture and arched an eyebrow but otherwise did not comment. He knew something was going on between Draco and Potter, but he did not expect things to go that fast. In that moment of time, Snape decided he would turn a blind eye… just as long things weren't going out of hand.

"No he does not, Potter. However… he told me one thing…" Snape bristled and picked up his wine glass, threw his head back and downed the whiskey.

Draco immediately tensed at his godfather's motions. The snake-faced monster must've said something important during the meeting. Something that would most likely threaten his love's life.

"What is it? What did that bastard say?" Draco growled.

Harry had felt Draco tensing, not to mention he also felt a flare of magic licking his skin. During their practices, Harry had learned how to locate someone by their magic flares. Everybody had their own unique magic auras; some could feel soothing, some like shards of glass cutting into skin, some like water, or like fire. Harry was quite familiarized with Draco's; the blonde's magical flare felt like ice crystals hitting against his skin. Whenever Draco was angry, the brunet would feel the icy coldness. Thus, this sort of explained why Draco's aura was blue.

Harry leaned closer to the blond and laid his head on Draco's shoulder. "Draco, calm down, let Snape explain. No need to get angry." Harry soothed. Draco took a deep breath and Harry felt the ice slipping away.

Snape smirked at the teens; he uncrossed his leg and leaned forward, staring intently at Draco.

"He told me that he will attack near Christmas time. The Dark Lord asked me to keep Potter 'safe'."

Harry gripped Draco's hand tighter when he felt the blond trembling with anger. He bit his lip and turned to face where he thought Snape was.

"It's the middle of July right now…" Harry whispered; he knew because his birthday was only two weeks away. "That only gives us… five months to prepare." Harry shook his head and hung his head. "Five months… Is that enough for me?"

Snape sighed tiredly and leaned back against the wingback chair he was sitting on. He tilted his head up and stared at the crystal chandelier hanging above.

"We have to work hard during these five months," Snape said, "I also suggest that you start practicing Occlumency again, Potter. I have a feeling the Dark Lord will began haunting your dreams again."

"What do you mean again!?" Draco shot out; he sat up straight and turned to look at Harry, whose eyes were widened in fear. "It happened before, Harry?"

"I-They stopped. I haven't had any nightmares lately… But yes, it's happened before." Harry said softly, "I use to be able to see visions, see exactly what Voldemort was seeing. Sometimes I would see things that the bastard _would_ do soon. Attacks, raids, and whatnot." Harry let out a breath and faced Draco, his hand reaching up to caress the blonde's face. "Whenever I get visions, I would wake up with a splitting headache; my scar would turn blood red, as if it was infected."

"Oh God…" Draco whispered and pressed his forehead against Harry's, "You actually see all the murders that snake-faced bastard does?"

Harry held back a sob and nodded his head; Draco closed his eyes, cursing under his breath, and pulled the smaller teen close to him. Harry needed comfort and Draco was there to give it. Snape watched as his godson and Potter held each other as if their lives depended on it. Somehow, he didn't have the heart to break them apart. They needed this.

Draco was carding his fingers through Harry's hair while the brunet was just snuggling. He turned his grey eyes towards Severus; Snape met those eyes and sneered.

"You want to help Potter don't you, Draco?" Snape asked; Draco's eyes hardened and nodded once. Snape smiled thinly and gave his consent, "Very well. You are, after all, an Occlumens; you can be the one teaching Potter how to shield his mind from the Dark Lord."

When his godfather smiled at him, Draco relaxed, just a little. He held Harry tighter and sent Snape a small smile of his own.

"Thank you, Uncle Severus."

Snape smirked and stood up; he looked down at the sitting teens.

"Start tomorrow. The quicker Potter learns, the better."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Hehe, you thought there would be a lemon in this chapter huh? Welps… there isn't! :D Not yet anyway ;D That will come in the next chapter, I promise 0:) what I had in the beginning of the chapter was a teaser xP

Thanks for reading! :D


	12. Chapter 12: A Flash of Hope

**Disclaimer: Well, you know what? They're still not mine. I'm sad. Someone please cheer me up. **

A/N: Since Draco will be teaching Harry how to occlude his mind, there will be parts where Draco sees glimpses of Harry's past. Just telling you now so you won't be confused :)

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

_blah_ – Flashbacks  
'_blah'_ – inner thoughts

**Gah… this chapter is so late x-x –falls to knees and begs for forgiveness-**

I'm not quite sure how Occlumency _feels_ like… o.O So, I'll just have Draco float around in Harry's mind… probing here and there, seeing images of Harry's past.

**My planned lemon did not work out for this chapter xD So I have to push it back… I have too much going on, and a lemon just didn't belong here haha**

**Chapter 12: A Flash of Hope**

"You have to relax, love," Draco said for the second time that evening; Harry huffed and fidgeted on the edge of the bed. Draco sighed and stood up from the chair that was placed facing the bed, and then sat down next to Harry. "You're too tense; I can't help you if you don't relax."

Harry sighed warily and laid his head on Draco's broader shoulders. "One reason why I didn't want to continue my Occlumency lessons with Snape was because I always feel this intense pressure inside my head… to the point where it felt like my brain was going to explode." Harry turned his face and nuzzled the skin on Draco's neck. "I'm sorry for being so nervous… it's not that I don't want to learn, it's just that it's hard for me."

Draco wrapped his arms around the smaller wizard and buried his nose in Harry's mop of hair. Breathing deeply, he could smell the fresh scent of apples from the brunet's shampoo… Well, it's actually Draco's since they took their showers in the same bathroom.

Not together though, so don't get any wrong ideas.

"One last time, Harry. Let's try once more and then we'll call it a night." Draco whispered softly into Harry's ear. "Just try your best to push me out of your mind."

Harry groaned but nodded nonetheless. Draco smiled and kissed Harry's forehead lovingly. Standing up again, Draco sat back down on the wooden chair. He reached out and squeezed Harry's knee, smiling when Harry placed his own hand on top of his.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked his boyfriend; Harry blew out a breath and nodded, releasing his hold on Draco's hand. "Alright… Remember Harry, once you feel the slightest probing in your mind, start creating mental walls."

"Mmm… I know what to do. Just go, Draco." Harry bit his bottom lip; his eyes settling at where Draco was.

Draco took his hand away from Harry's knee and folded his arms on top of his thighs. Once he saw that Harry was relaxed, Draco started. Although he wasn't a great Legilimens, Draco's skills in that branch of magic were enough to penetrate Harry's mind.

He stared long and hard into Harry's eyes… and went in.

Harry jerked when he felt Draco entering his mind. It was as if the blond was taking a hammer and a chisel and had started chipping his skull away. Potter gritted his teeth; he _had_ to do this. Two years ago, he had the opportunity with Snape, but threw it away. Sure, he learned something from those lessons, but not much. All he could do now was put up weak walls around his mind. That wasn't enough, not nearly enough, to block Voldemort.

Draco saw the way Harry gritted his teeth, the pain creeping into his expression. He lessened his probing and slowly withdrew; he wasn't even in the center of Harry's mind yet. All he saw were hazy images, things from very recent days.

"Harry, are you alright?" Draco asked once he was back in the reality; Harry was breathing heavily now, beads of sweat covered his forehead.

Harry stopped grounding his teeth and gave Draco a feeble nod. He didn't want to Draco to worry.

"S-sorry Draco… I…" Harry paused and swallowed; his throat felt really dry. "I guess it's because I haven't done it for so long… But I'm ready now. Continue Draco."

"Are you sure? We can do it tomorrow, after you have rested well enough." Draco moved in and took Harry's hands. "Look at you… your hands are ice cold! Maybe we should do this tomorrow…"

Harry shook his head, his hair swishing left and right in front of his eyes. "No, I want to do this. Remember Snape said the faster I learn, the better. I'm sure your godfather doesn't want to wake up to the sounds of me screaming because of a stupid nightmare." Harry tugged at Draco's hand and the blond, noticing the gesture, scooted his chair closer to the bed. Harry's hands slowly crept up the length of Draco's arm, past the shoulders, skimming up his neck, and finally, Harry cupped Draco's face tenderly, careful of his fingers so that they wouldn't poke Draco's eyes.

"I'll be fine Draco, don't worry so much." Harry smiled and closed in to kiss Draco; the blond smiled into their kiss, deepened it before separating. "I know I'm not the only one that's tired. Occlumency can take a lot from a person that's initiating it."

Draco gave one last kiss on Harry's nose before pulling away. "Let's try this again."

The blond concentrated, silver eyes staring unseeingly at Harry's and with a gut sucking feeling, he was inside Harry's mind.

* * *

"_Where's our breakfast, freak?!"_

Draco watched the gray, somewhat fuzzy memory; a five-year old Harry came scrambling into the kitchen. A fat man, the size of a huge walrus, was sitting at the breakfast table. His beady little eyes were following Harry's every movement. Harry climbed onto a small stool and stood before the stove; Draco frowned at the scene before him. How can they let a small child be near a hot stove? And did that fat man just called Harry a freak? Draco trembled with anger and watched on; he was also wondering why Harry hadn't pushed him out of his mind yet.

"_Sorry Uncle Vernon…" Harry whispered; he set the pan on the stove and turned it on, heating the pan. _

"_You better be sorry, you worthless piece of filth!" Vernon spat; he picked up his newspaper. "After you are done with the cooking, I want you to clean the whole kitchen. If you don't finish cleaning before nine o' clock, don't even think about eating today, boy." _

"_Yes, Uncle." Harry murmured and went to fix his uncle some breakfast._

The scene shimmered, but the blond was still in Harry's mind; Draco guessed it was either Harry was trying to force Draco out, and failed, or Harry himself didn't want Draco to see what happened with the rest of that memory. Draco probed deeper; he was so deep in Harry's mind that things here were hazy. Draco hesitated; just before he was about to go into another memory, he felt a wall surrounding that memory. The blond smiled; it seemed Harry _was_ trying to keep Draco out. That was the whole point of their training anyway. Before Draco could do anything else, he felt an invisible force, grabbing his middle and yanked him out.

Draco blinked and focused on his boyfriend; Harry was panting from fatigue, his hair was stuck to his sweat covered face. Draco stood up from his chair and sat down next to the smaller teen on the bed. Harry automatically laid his head on Draco's shoulder.

"How-how did I do?" Harry asked tiredly. "I tried to block you off the first time… and I knew it didn't work. T-then I really forced myself to form that wall when you were probing into the second memory."

Draco sighed exasperatedly and wrapped his lean arms around Harry. "Love, I told you that you shouldn't push yourself too hard!" With his right hand, Draco smoothed Harry's hair back; it was damp with sweat and sticking to the smaller teen's skin. "I think we did enough tonight; you should rest now."

Harry, too tired to protest, nodded weakly and just let Draco maneuver him until he was lying flat on the bed. It wasn't until he felt the bed dip a bit more did he realize that he was on Draco's bed. Draco chuckled when he felt Harry tensed up beside him; he draped his arm across Harry's abdomen, pulling the brunet close to him.

"Stay here tonight, Harry." Draco whispered; Harry let out a whoosh of breath before nodding, putting his head under Draco's chin. "Stop being so nervous; I promise I won't do anything during your sleep."

Harry let out a laugh and slapped Draco's chest, "As if I would even _let_ you do anything." Harry turned and pressed his nose into Draco's chest, a silly smile on his face. "I must warn you though, I move a lot when I sleep."

Draco scoffed; he smiled when he saw Harry's eyes drooped until they were closed. The brunet let out a soft sigh, shifted around a bit, and finally, fell asleep. Draco, minding Harry, moved the thin duvet up, covering both their bodies. It wouldn't do well if Harry caught a cold or something; he needed all the energy he can muster. Looking down one last time, Draco placed a small kiss on top of Harry's head.

"Goodnight, love."

* * *

"Draco, how are the lessons coming along?" Snape asked one night after they had their dinner.

Harry and Draco were lounging on a long sofa while Severus was sitting in an armchair, reading over a Potions book. Harry looked up when he heard the question directed at Draco; the blond moved until he was sitting up straight in the sofa.

"It's going pretty well; Harry was able to block me last night." Draco answered; he ran his hand up and down Harry's arm, making the brunet purr softly. Snape noticed but chose not to comment on it.

He did say as long it didn't affect Potter's lessons, he did not care.

"I see. Mr. Potter, I'm glad you are finally making progress. This is much better than what we did in your fifth year." Snape commented; Harry blushed and sat up as well.

"Draco was… persistent. We tried three times before I finally blocked him out." Harry smiled sheepishly and moved to face where Snape should be. "I overdid it though and sort of blacked out; I fell asleep not long after."

Draco scoffed, "You were like an unmoving lump. If there was a fire, I don't think you would've noticed."

"Hey! I was tired!" Harry puffed out his chest and scowled; he was facing Draco again.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, his head tilted heavenward. "If you're that tired, Mr. Potter, then I suggest you should retire earlier tonight." Snape drawled; his onyx colored eyes landed on Draco, a smirk etched on his face. "Draco, after my training with Potter tomorrow, I want you to come to my lab straight after. I've been experimenting on a potion and I need your help on it."

"Uh… sure. What are you working on?" Draco asked; Harry had a confused look but nodded as well. He wanted to know.

"I've been working on a potion that might give Potter his sight back… It will be a potion that will get rid of all the scarring in your corneas and irises. I'm hoping it will re-grow the damaged tissues." Snape sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not getting total positive results, but I think I made a discovery yesterday."

Draco almost slid off the sofa while Harry was almost hyperventilating.

"Professor… You-you're really trying to give me my sight back?" Harry asked; his breathing was erratic.

"Try is the key word, Potter. Like I said, I still haven't gotten good results." Snape said, but had a tiny smile on his face. "Don't worry, Potter, I'm not giving up. This is why I'm asking Draco to help. I want him to brew one version of the potion while I make another, using different ingredients."

"Uncle Severus… Will the potion really work? I mean, it's not going to make Harry worse right?" Draco asked, almost afraid to be too hopeful. It would be great if his boyfriend will gain his sight back.

"I'm still in the testing stage; anything can happen." Severus replied, "That is why Potter must continue with his training, just in case my potion does not work."

A huge smile blossomed across Harry's face. There was a chance he can see again! Harry hoped Snape _can_ make the potion work. Even though he was starting to get used to being blind, he really missed his sense of sight. Also, Harry would be able to see Draco… that would be great.

"Can I do anything to help?" Harry asked. He knew there was a stupid grin on his face, but he didn't care.

"Harry, didn't you listen to what Uncle Severus said?" Draco took Harry's hands and held them. "You just work on the battle skills while we work on the potion." He squeezed Potter's hand, "We'll find the cure, trust us."

Harry smiled and cautiously reached out to caress Draco's soft cheeks. "I believe you. Professor Snape is a Potions Master, I'm sure he'll find something." Harry hesitated a bit before turning to face the older wizard in the room. "Professor… I… I thank you for really trying… I mean, I know you don't have to do this for me."

Severus smirked; at least the boy was actually facing him and not talking to a wall. "I am doing this because if you can see, you will have a better chance in defeating the Dark Lord. Don't think that I'm doing this from the goodness of my heart." He sneered at Harry—even though he knew Potter couldn't see—before vacating the armchair. "You will come with us to the lab after your training; Draco will guide you there. We will spend around an hour making the potion. Then, I want you to test them; I want you to tell me if there's anything different."

Harry nodded, "So I just have to take the potion then tell you if anything changed for my vision?"

"That is correct, Mr. Potter. Now if you both will excuse me, I'll be retiring to my room. Goodnight." Snape walked off and left Harry and Draco alone.

Both teens remained silent until they no longer heard Snape's footsteps. Draco, throwing all calm aside, wrapped his arms around the brunet, pulling Harry close and inhaled the green eyed teen's scent.

"I'm glad Uncle Severus is doing this. I know he doesn't sound all that sincere, but that's how he is. He's a conservative man and doesn't really show his emotions."

"I know. He's been our professor for six years. I think I know how Snape is by now." Harry chuckled and nuzzled Draco's neck. "Does this mean… it really means there's a chance I can see again?" Harry asked; the hope he was repressing earlier was surfacing again. "Snape _can_ make the potion, right?"

Draco laughed and played with the ends of Harry's hair. "Of course, he does have me helping him after all."

"Mm… can't forget that now can I?" Harry hummed, "I'm scared that it might not work though…"

"Have some faith in us will you?" Draco asked, albeit a bit sarcastically.

Harry pulled away from the blond, his eyes wide. "I-I don't mean to sound like that that! Oh Merlin, I'm sorry…" Harry mumbled, his eyes cast downward, "When Madame Pomfrey told me that nothing can get rid of the scarred tissues, I lost all hope. She said no spells can help… but she never mentioned about a potion."

"That's probably because there hasn't been a potion that helped blindness." Draco explained, "The one Uncle Severus will be making is going to be the first."

"Wow… if it works… his potion can help many people." Harry said in awe.

Draco smirked and stood up; he took Harry's arm and helped the brunet up. "You should sleep early tonight. Lots of things are happening tomorrow."

Later on that night, Harry spent a handful of minutes smiling, thinking how it would be like to see again, before he fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"We will be using the same seven ingredients with two other that will be used to make the different versions of the potion." Snape informed; Draco nodded and eyed the bottles and jars set on the table in front of him. "The seven original ingredients are for making the Scar Removing Potion and the Renewal Potion. I made some adjustments so that it wouldn't be too harsh since we are working with delicate body parts."

Snape walked to Draco's table and grabbed one of the glass bottles. "For the other two modifications… Draco, you will be using grounded Dragon horn," Snape put the bottle down and then picked up a plate, "and sliced horned slugs." Draco grimaced at the sliced up slugs, their guts oozing onto the plate. "I will be using diced Dragon heart and pomegranate. I'm hoping the pomegranate can strengthen the newly grown tissues of Potter's eyes."

Harry, who had been listening for the past five minutes, leaned forward on the stool he was sitting on.

"Sir, am I going to feel a bit uncomfortable when the new tissues starts to grow?"

Snape crossed his arms in front of his chest, "You might. See, this was why I asked you to tell me everything you feel. Any pain, itchiness, pressure to your eyes, tingling, or whatever you might feel, you have to tell me."

"Alright… I understand." Harry murmured, "Are you going to start now?"

"Yes, we are." Snape turned to his godson, "Draco, start yours now. I made sure all the ingredients used will not reject each other. They should be able to mix nicely. Follow the instructions I wrote in the parchment and things should go smoothly."

Draco bit his lip and nodded; he skimmed through the instructions and got to work.

'_Merlin… I hope this potion can help Harry…'_

After much stirring, simmering, boiling, adding, and more stirring, both Draco's and Severus' potions were complete. Harry, even though he was sitting at the side of the lab, smelt the awful fumes that came from both potions. He had coughed and sneezed; more than once Snape had told him to act like an adult and stop all the foolishness. After that, Harry spent the rest of the hour sitting grumpily on his stool and waited to test out the potions.

The brunet had almost dozed off when someone shook him. He jerked in his seat and then realized it was Draco who had shaken him.

"Harry… Uncle Severus said you should test mine first." Draco said; Harry could tell his boyfriend sounded nervous. "He said you only take one sip; the effect of each will last only five minutes. Tell him everything, alright?"

"'Kay…" With a trembling hand, Harry took the vial Draco was holding out and drank one sip.

The effects were instantaneous. Just two seconds after the vile potion went down his throat, Harry felt a small tingling sensation in the back of his eyeballs. The green eyed teen blinked a couple of times and gasped. The darkness he was so used to seeing was going gray. Miniature white spots appeared and spread out; Harry blinked some more and this time he was sure he saw some outlines of things.

"What do you see, Potter?!" Snape barked; he had noticed the way Harry was blinking.

"I-There was a small tingling sensation in the back of my eyes when I first drank," Harry started; he could hear mad scribbling of quill on parchment. "Then when I blinked a few times, the blackness turned gray and these small white dots appeared and started floating around. I swear I saw some faint outlines of things… I'm not too sure what it was…" Harry trailed off; he furrowed his eyebrows when a sudden throb of pain started, "Okay… now there's this throbbing pain in my eye… it feels like it's coming from the inside."

The pain slowly ebbed away; the white spots disappeared and finally, darkness settled once more. Harry's vision was back to the way it was.

"I… It's dark again… It's back to normal…" Harry whispered.

Draco let out the breath he was holding and leaned down, kissing Harry on his forehead.

"That's progress…" The blond turned and faced his godfather. "Should we try the one with the pomegranate?"

Snape nodded and walked over to Potter and his godson. "I suspect that some of Potter's scarred tissues were removed, but not thoroughly, when he drank your version of the potion. That was probably why he saw white spots and grayness. I will work on the potion and add necessary ingredients to better it." He held Harry's hand and placed another vial in the teen's palm. "Try this one, Potter, and tell me what happens."

Harry took one sip of the potion Severus made; he gagged as the rotten egg tasting potion slid down his throat. It even _felt_ like rotten egg yolk. Once again, the effect was immediate. But this time, Snape's potion let him see a flash of blinding white, then it dulled into a softer white light. Harry knew he still had his eyes open so he squinted.

"I see this really bright white… everything's white. I can't see any outlines though…" Harry trailed off and moved his eyes around.

Suddenly, the whiteness was gone and in its place, Harry saw a fuzzy blob that looked strangely like a head full of blond hair…

"I-I can see Draco's head!" Harry said excitedly; Draco gripped Harry's hand in response. "It's not clear at all, but I can tell it's Draco because of his blond hair!" Harry smiled and started to look around, "I can see orange blobs, Professor. Are those candle lights?"

"Yes, I have a few candles lit." Snape answered, "What else, Potter?"

Harry frowned; the hazy images were starting to fade. This version of the potion seemed to work better than the one Draco made. There wasn't any pain, no tingling… When the images were totally gone, Harry had thought he would see black again. However…

"Professor… I-I think the effects are over but my vision is not totally dark! It's gray, like there is this thick sheet of smog covering my eyes."

"Ah, I think that is because some new tissues have grown. I will take note of that." Snape drawled and wrote something down on his piece of parchment. "This is progressing really well. Just from this experiment, I know how to improve." Snape folded the parchment and slipped it into his robes. "I'll find time to brew some more and add new things. You two can leave now," Snape placed a heavy hand on Harry's shoulder, "If I come up with something, I'll tell you."

Harry smiled gratefully at the Potions Master, "Thank you Sir."

"Thank you Uncle, for helping Harry," Draco said softly, "If you need my help again, don't hesitate to ask me." He helped Harry up and guided the brunet out of the lab.

"Draco… you don't know how excited I was when I saw your face." Harry said, "I was hoping it would be clearer but it was better than nothing." Harry held up his hand and wiggled his fingers in front of his eyes; he saw nothing but the constant grayness. "One day, I'm sure I'll see again, but in the meantime, I can only hope."

"You'll be able to see again, Harry." Draco smiled, "I think the results were pretty good, even if the potion is still in the testing stage."

"Mmhmm…" Harry sighed and hooked his arms with Draco's.

"Think of all the things we can do when you can see again, Harry!"

"Yeah…" Harry had a dreamy look on his face.

"For instance, we can play Quidditch out in the fields." Draco smirked when his boyfriend nodded absently.

"That's nice…"

"Also, you can see my pretty face everyday."

"Yes Draco," Harry smiled, "I'll see your pretty face."

"And don't forget you can see my expression in the throes of passion," Draco snickered when Harry turned as red as a tomato and they stopped walking altogether.

"What?!" Harry blushed furiously, "I-er… uh… Yeah." Harry groaned and buried his face in Draco's shoulder, "You're teasing me…" Harry almost groaned out loud again when he felt an interested twitch down in his nether regions.

Damn.

"Don't you want to see my face then?" Draco purred; he pushed Harry until the smaller teen was backed into a wall.

Harry gulped. Oh of _course_ he wanted to see the blonde's face during their 'throes of passion' as Draco put it. More than anything. But he wasn't going to tell Draco _that._

"Yeah. Sure. Why not? Of course." Harry said choppily. How Harry wished the wall behind him would swallow him up.

Draco smirked evilly. It was so fun to tease Harry like this.

"We should practice right now," Draco suggested, his evil grin never left his face.

"What?!"

_Buwahahahahaha_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Hehe! Here's a new chapter! I'm very sorry that this was so late ;-; Finals are evile! But now, they are over with so I am happy :D

Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13: A Reason to Fight

Author's note: It's been almost a year since I last updated this story… I know you guys probably forgot what was going on in the story. I'm really sorry for being such a lazy bum ;(

**Thank you for all the reviews! And for sticking with me. God knows I don't deserve it. It shocks me to find readers adding this story to their Alerts or Favorites. –cries happy tears-**

The lemon scene didn't seem appropriate in this chapter as well. Next chapter. Maybe.

**Warnings: :D Nothing explicit. The naked bodies will be in the next chapter. Hopefully.  
**

Who knows how long I would take?

**

* * *

  
**

**Chapter 13**

_A Reason to Fight_

"How are his Occlumency lessons coming along, Draco?" Snape asked; he swirled his glass of red wine and took a sip, waiting for Draco to speak.

Draco leaned back against the armchair he was sitting on and crossed his legs. He and Severus were in Severus' study. It was late at night and Draco made sure that Harry was asleep before meeting Snape. It didn't take long – for Occlumency was very tiring – for Harry to fall asleep.

"He's… getting there," Draco murmured. "The walls are getting stronger but I can still go through them." He looked at Snape, only to find the older man staring blankly at him. "I know what you're thinking, Uncle Severus, but I don't… I don't want to force him."

_All the things I have seen… His childhood… Those Muggles! _Draco seethed at the thought of seeing the way Harry's whale-like uncle, a tub of lard for a cousin, and his horse-faced aunt had treated him.

Severus sighed, failing to see his godson's irritation, and placed his wine glass on top his desk. He stood up from his chair and went to the window, looking out into the ink-black sky.

"You care for him, Draco, I know. I could see that," Severus said, facing the window. "But you and I know that the Dark Lord planned to…"

Draco shut his eyes painfully. "Kill Harry when Christmas comes," he said tightly. "We know… We only have five months time to prepare. Harry and I are working our hardest to prepare for that…"

Severus nodded tiredly almost. "I'm not just worried about how Potter is doing in Occlumency; I'm also worried about his battling skills. Is he really ready?" Severus folded his hands behind his back. From the window, he could see Draco's reflection; the blond was now sitting with his body leaned forward, his head down. "Potter isn't that bad in battling, for that I am sure. That boy is a natural fighter, even without his sense of sight. But still. Is it enough?"

Draco smiled lightly to the ground. He couldn't argue with that. Harry _was_ an exceptionally good combatant. Even without being able to see, Harry was still able to hit his targets accurately and precisely.

"If Harry heard you praising him, he'll think you lost your mind or something, Uncle."

Snape actually chuckled. "I'll only say this to you, Draco." He turned around from the window and picked up his wine glass. Walking around the table, Snape approached Draco. Placing one hand on Draco's shoulder, he said, "Potter is truly amazing. He never gives up. I believe that he _can_ defeat the Dark Lord." Snape patted his godson's shoulder and continued his way out of the room. "Help him as much as you can. He listens to you; he trusts you."

The door clicked shut, leaving Draco alone. He scowled and looked out the window across the room.

_My reason to fight… is to be sure that Harry will live, and the snake-faced bastard dead.  
_

HPDMHPDMHPDM

Draco quietly crept into his room. He smiled softly when he heard Harry's soft snores from the bed. The blond sat down on the edge of the bed and reached over to brush Harry's hair away from his eyes. The dark-haired teen sighed in his sleep and hugged Draco's pillow closer to him. Draco chuckled and stood, pulling the thin duvet back and slipped under it. Not two seconds he was on the bed, Harry's arm wrapped around Draco's middle, securely holding him. Harry mumbled and buried his face in Draco's arm.

Draco smiled and turned, spooning Harry, protecting his love. "I'll be there with you… By your side…" Draco kissed Harry's brows; the brunet sighed. "… If-if… anything happens to me…" Draco took in a shuddering breath, his eyes watering.

"… Know that I love you, no matter what…"

* * *

When Draco woke up the next morning, the first thing he felt was soft touches on his cheek. He opened his eyes, only to find Harry lying on his side, smiling.

"Are you awake?" Harry asked softly. When Draco grunted affirmatively, Harry grinned and leaned in to kiss Draco's nose. "Good thing I know your face… It would be embarrassing if I kissed your nostrils or something."

Draco snickered, more awake now. "That would only be bad if there was snot coming out."

Harry smacked Draco's arm and huffed. Then his face turned solemn. "Where were you last night? I wasn't fully asleep. I felt you getting out of bed…"

"I… I was talking with Severus," Draco answered truthfully.

Harry cupped Draco's face; the blond leaned into the touch. "Is it about Voldemort?" When Draco didn't answer, Harry knew. "Draco… We both know that it's unavoidable. Whatever happens, will happen. I'll fight. Only one will die that night… It's either me or him."

Draco's breath hitched. The tears he was holding back threatened to fall. He pulled Harry closer and the dark-haired teen pressed his face into the hollow of Draco's neck.

"No… Don't say that… You're not going to die," Draco murmured; he blinked, feeling the prickling of tears behind his eyes. "I'll be there with you. _We'll _fight together. You are not doing it alone, Potter." Draco ran his hands up and down Harry's back. "I don't know if I can live without you… Not anymore. I… I love you too much… I don't know what I'll do…"

Harry nodded against Draco's neck. _You're not going to be anywhere near Voldemort, Draco._ "Love you too, Draco… But if you do anything stupid though, _I'll_ kill you myself."_ There would be no need of that because only _I _will fight._

"If it saves you, I would do it anyways, regardless," Draco muttered.

Harry sighed, kissed Draco's neck, and pulled back. "We should get out of bed now. Snape would be wondering why we're taking so long."

Draco laughed and rubbed his eyes, which were slightly puffy and red. "Yeah… He might barge in here… You know how Uncle Sev is."

Harry giggled and sat up, stretching his tired body. He rolled his head, getting rid of the kinks in his neck. He felt the bed shift when Draco sat up as well. The blond gave his boyfriend one last kiss before hopping off the bed.

"I think we're working with wandless magic today," Draco said as he made his way to the closet. "Uncle said that we should wear some old clothing just in case…" Draco opened the closet doors and began searching.

Harry hummed and patted around, found his footing and got off the bed. He then started making the bed by hand.

"You don't have any old clothes, Draco," Harry said. "If you can't find any, borrow one of my shirts. They're not silk or cashmere like yours are. If there aren't much here, then the rest are in my room."

Harry smiled when he heard Draco huff behind him. "Well, I guess that's one way I can make you buy some new clothes, wearing them for practices." Draco smiled when Harry laughed, followed by the sounds of pillows being fluffed.

"You planned this out with Snape didn't you?" Harry asked jokingly. "This is just to make me lend out my old clothes so that I need to buy some new ones."

Draco bit his lips to prevent himself from laughing out loud. He spun on his feet and found Harry bent over, trying to straighten out the covers, his bum sticking out. Draco rolled his eyes and sauntered over to his boyfriend.

"Harry," Draco murmured as he wrapped his arms around the smaller teen, eliciting a small gasp from him, "why don't you ever use magic to make the bed?"

Harry chuckled and swatted Draco's arms; the blond reluctantly let go. "I'm just used to it I guess." When Harry finished, Draco held Harry's hand, _Accio'd_ some clothes and gave him his attire for the day.

"Put those on; we're going to do some battling, I'm sure," Draco told him when Harry turned blank eyes on him. Draco then smirked and started pulling Harry towards the bathroom. "Let's have a quick shower. I'll wash your back for you."

Harry laughed and let Draco pull him along. "It's just an excuse to feel me up, isn't it?"

Draco sighed dramatically. "You know me too well, love."

"Prat!"

* * *

"Potter, concentrate!" Snape barked; he flicked his wand, sending a rather large cushion in Harry's direction.

Harry gritted his teeth and shut his useless eyes. He concentrated, cleared his thoughts, and only thought of the spell that would make the cushion explode. Just a few feet before it would his head, Harry's eyes snapped open, his hand in front of him, fingers spread, palm out.

"_Bombarda!"_

Draco beamed as the cushion exploded in a shower of fluff. Snape smirked and crossed his arms, nodding his approval.

"Great job, Harry!"

Harry sagged in relief. He finally did it, after many tries. He was at his wits end and he knew Snape was not better off. All three of them had been in the battle room for at least four hours; it was well into the afternoon now. Snape had worked with Draco first, telling his godson all the crucial points in wandless magic. The biggest being concentration. Harry had listened to every word that Snape said, noting that he should repeat the spell he wanted to use in his head multiple times.

It certainly didn't surprised Harry when Draco got the hang of wandless magic very quickly. Draco was, after all, very good at spell casting. The only difference being he wasn't holding his wand. When it was Harry's turn to try, he was instantly nervous. Without being able to see, Harry didn't know where the cushions were coming from.

That was a disadvantage.

The first time Snape sent a cushion, it collided with the side of his head, making his right ear bright red. The second time, the cushion smacked him in front of his face. The third time, however, Harry just managed to duck; he heard the whizzing of the cushion over his head. After four times, Snape began to yell at him. On Harry's seventh try, he finally hit the cushion with a _Bombarda._

"Potter, keep working on it. Next time, it won't be cushions," Snape drawled. He tucked his wand back into his robe. "That's all for today. Tomorrow, I want you both to learn how to deflect hexes wandlessly." With that said, Snape left, his black robe billowing behind him.

Draco went over to his boyfriend when Harry rubbed his face tiredly. "Are you alright?" Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah… I'm fine… Just a bit tired, that's all," Harry whispered. Frowning, Harry rubbed his forehead. "Fuck, those cushions hurt! Do I have a red mark on my forehead?" Harry turned to face Draco, lifting his fringe away from his forehead. "I swear Snape sent those things at me full force!"

Draco, chuckling, inspected Harry's skin. It was a bit red, but that was all. No bruise, no bump.

"You're fine, just a bit red," the blond answered, placing a soft kiss on Harry's lightning bolt scar. He smiled when Harry shivered; the scar was one of Harry's sensitive spots. "The cushions had to be on the heavy side or else they would've been too easy to destroy."

"Eh… I guess…" Harry muttered. "I bet your _godfather_ did it on purpose, whacking me in the face with them."

Draco snorted and steered his boyfriend out of the room. "Oh, stop complaining, Harry. At least he didn't send rocks at us or something. He could've; they would have hurt more, just like hexes would be."

"I should be grateful, huh?" Harry shrugged Draco's arm off his shoulders. When the arm dropped, Harry found Draco's hand and linked their fingers together. "I need to work on my Braille. I don't want Snape telling me that I'm slacking off. I need a break from all the practices."

"I'll help you."

"Thanks, Draco."

Malfoy hummed as they made their way to his bedroom.

"You know, it's a pity that your clothes are still intact. I was hoping that after our lesson, your shirt would have at least some holes in them."

Harry let out a shocked laugh. "Oh god… Draco, if you really want me to have a new wardrobe, go beg Snape to let us out of his house."

"He won't; it's too dangerous, Harry… You know it," Draco murmured. "There could be Dead Eaters around… We can't risk it."

Harry sighed and squeezed Draco's hand. He knew Draco was thinking about the battle that would "end everything", as Harry liked to call it. Harry hated it when Draco sounded worried and sad. This just gave him more reasons to practice harder and kill Voldemort once and for all.

Harry would not have Draco suffer.

* * *

On a fine Sunday morning – two days before Harry's birthday – Harry was about to have a surprise visit. Draco had asked his godfather – groveled was more like it – to let Harry's two friends visit. Draco, to say the least, was surprised when Snape consented. The only answer Snape gave Draco was a sneer when the blond asked his godfather why he had agreed so easily.

So there they were, Hermione and Ron, looking out of place in front of Severus Snape's house, the Potions Master of Hogwarts. Draco held the door opened and smirked at both Granger and Weasley.

"Oh… Uhm… Hello, Malfoy," Hermione greeted. "I-We got your letter… Thank you for letting us stay over for the week, for Harry's birthday…" She smiled and Draco sighed, dropping his smirk.

"Don't thank me, thank Uncle Sev… He's the one that okayed it." Draco opened the door wider to let the two pass. "Harry's still sleeping… I'll go wake him up, but I'm not going to tell him."

Ron merely grunted, but Hermione smiled. "Alright, we'll just wait in the living room. Is Professor Snape…?"

"No, he's not in. Went out very early," Draco shrugged, "he didn't want to be here and listen to us 'kids'."

Hermione let out a small giggle; Draco actually smiled. He had vowed to be nicer to Harry's friends while they were here. It was the least he could do. Ron rolled his eyes, but otherwise did not throw any scathing remarks at Draco. It seemed he was also trying hard to keep himself from saying stupid things.

_Granger must've said something to him._ Draco smirked.

He led the two guests to the living room, gesturing for them to sit down. Hermione settled into the couch and Ron sat down next to her. Draco cleared his throat, feeling a bit uncomfortable since he was with two Gryffindors.

"I'll… go upstairs and wake Harry…" Draco looked away when Granger smiled warmly at him. _Damn, she smiles too much._ "You two are going to stay in Harry's… previous room…"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh? Where's Harry…" She caught Draco blushing and she smirked. "Oh, never mind." Hermione flapped her hand. "Where is Harry's room?"

"What? Where's Harry staying then?" Ron asked bluntly, having not understood Draco's hesitation.

Hermione groaned; her boyfriend was so dense sometimes. "Goodness, Ron! Do I have to spell it out for you?"

Ron shrank away from her. "What? What did I say? I only asked…" When Hermione glared at him, something clicked in his head. "Oh… Ooh! Right…" Ron looked embarrassed.

Draco snorted. "Glad you figured it out. Don't worry, I love him. I'm not going to do anything to Harry."

"Eh, you better not…" Ron grumbled while Hermione nodded.

"Harry told… Well, we sort of figured he liked you when we were still in Hogwarts. Ron and I are both alright with it, as long you don't hurt him, Malfoy."

"I won't!" Draco snarled; he then let out a long sigh. "You remember what I wrote in the letter?"

"Uhm… Yes, I do," Hermione answered. "You wrote that… that V-Voldemort planned on…"

"It's not going to happen!" Ron said suddenly, cutting Hermione off. "That snake-faced son of a bitch…"

"I quite agree with Weasley. For once." Draco smirked at the redhead; Ron's lips quirked amusingly. "I'm going to fight with Harry, no matter what he's going to say to me… I'm not going to leave his side."

Ron and Hermione shared a look. They knew what was going to happen when Christmas comes. Hermione had been thinking of ways to be here, with Harry and Draco, ever since she read Draco's letter. She and Ron wanted to be by their friend's side, battling and seeing the downfall of the so-called great Dark Lord.

"So… Professor Snape's training both you and Harry?" Hermione asked after looking back at Draco. "And he's also trying to find a cure for Harry's blindness?"

Draco nodded and shifted his weight to his other foot. "He is and we're getting better. Believe it or not, Uncle Sev actually told me that Harry's quite good in battling."

"That's good… I do hope Professor Snape can find a cure as well," Hermione whispered, sounding hopeful.

"Snape said something nice?" Ron scoffed. "Unbelievable."

"Well, Weasley, believe it." Draco turned and started for the stairs. "I'll wake Harry up now. Give me a few minutes."

Hermione watched as Draco walked out of the living and disappeared. "Draco really changed. I think this is our first time talking with him without getting our wands out."

"… I guess." Ron shuffled back on the couch. "Mione… Are we really at Snape's house? We're really living in the same house with the greasy bat?"

Hermione smacked Ron's thigh. "Yes, we are!"

"Just wondering if I'm really here… or if I'm dreaming this whole thing."

"Ron!"

"Sorry."

HPDMHPDMHPDM

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Draco sang. Harry grunted and turned the other way. Draco huffed and flopped onto the bed. "Wake up, Harry!"

"… 'o away… m'tired…" Harry grumbled into this pillow.

Draco growled and rolled over, straddling Harry's body. He flipped Harry over until the brunet was on his back. Green eyes cracked opened and Harry scowled for being woken up rudely.

"… Draco… What the hell…" Harry croaked. He blinked a few times and squinted. "Let me sleep…!"

"No."

"Draco… Today's Sunday!" Harry whined. "Let me sleep one more hour…" Harry let out a huge yawn. "Come on… get off…"

Draco sniffed. "You really have to go downstairs. Put on a shirt and some sweats. You are not going downstairs almost naked."

"Why?" Harry rubbed his eyes. He then glared at his boyfriend. "Is the house on fire or something? What's the rush?"

"Potter, if the house was on fire, I wouldn't be here sitting on you, trying to wake you up," Draco said. "I would send you flying out the window, making sure you're not burnt to a crisp."

"Is sending me flying out the window any better than being burned?" Harry asked, laughing. He was more awake now. "I'll be dead either way."

Draco smacked Harry's chest. "Then get up, you lazy arse! Stop asking questions and follow me downstairs."

"Fine! Let me…" Harry struggled to sit up. "Draco, get off."

Draco pouted and leaned down, kissing Harry on his lips. "I'll make the bed, you make yourself presentable."

Harry mumbled something and Draco smiled. Harry was so cute in the mornings. He slid off of his boyfriend and got off the bed. Harry sat up and stretched.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes."

* * *

"Seriously, Draco, are you keeping something from me?" Harry asked as he was pulled along by his boyfriend.

"No, but this can't wait, and… and I know you'll be very happy once you know what's waiting." Draco turned the corner and stopped by the living room. Harry bumped into Draco's back and frowned.

"We're at the living room…" Harry tilted his head; he could feel the throbs of two new, although faint, magic auras. He knew Draco's and Snape's auras by now. But these two… "Draco, who's in there? Don't tell me otherwise because I can feel two foreign magical auras."

Draco looked at both Hermione and Ron's shocked faces. He tugged Harry's hand, taking them closer to the two.

"You're getting good at detecting auras, Harry."

"Draco…"

"Trust me, they're not enemies." Draco let go of Harry's hand and pushed him forward.

Harry took a deep breath; he could smell a faint flowery scent. Someone's perfume. A girl was here. Harry closed his eyes and saw a wispy red glow. It felt familiar… and next to the red aura, was a yellow one. They didn't feel threatening at all. Instead, they felt welcoming… as if they're friendly.

Harry opened his eyes and reached out, touching Ron's hair. Draco snickered when Ron arched his eyebrow questioningly.

"Ron…?" Harry asked uncertainly. "Ron… Is it you?"

"Yeah, mate, it's me," Ron answered, smiling. Harry beamed and turned towards where he saw the red glow. "Hermione, you're here too!"

"Harry… This… You can sense auras? That's wonderful!" She sprang up from the couch and tackled Harry, crushing him with a bear hug. "Oh, I missed you, Harry!" Harry laughed happily and hugged her in return.

Draco stood nearby, watching with a grin. "I told you they weren't enemies."

Harry pulled away from Hermione's embrace and went up to the blond. He threw his arms around Draco and held him tight.

"And you! Why didn't you say anything!? I thought the house was on fire!" Harry kissed Draco right on his lips.

Hermione giggled while Ron rolled his eyes, smiling. Draco smirked and whispered in Harry's ear.

"I wanted to surprise you, love." Draco sighed and pressed Harry's head onto his shoulder. "Your birthday is coming up, and I asked Uncle Severus to let them stay for the week… I know you would like to have your friends here with you. We both know that it's not safe for you to be traveling around, so I asked Granger and Weasley to come here instead."

"I'm just surprised Snape gave permission," Harry said into Draco's shirt. "This is his house after all... Where _is_ Snape anyway?"

Draco chuckled. "He went out to purchase some ingredients for your potion, love. That was what he told me."

Hermione perked up at the mention of 'potion ingredient'. "How is Professor Snape doing? Is he getting anywhere near…?"

"I know he'll find the cure," Harry said, answering her question. "I'm really grateful that Snape is spending time on the potion… Even though he told me he's only doing it because he wants me to defeat Voldemort… But I know that's not the only reason."

Hermione nodded as Harry spoke. "Do you think he'll let me help him? I _was_ the second best in his class."

"After me," Draco said smugly. He winced when Harry pinched him. "Ah… I can ask him if you like."

"Really?" Hermione clasped her hands together and beamed at Draco. "That would be great!"

"Mione! If you're helping Snape the whole time, what am I going to do?" Ron asked petulantly.

Harry went to his friend, his arm out. Ron saw this and took Harry's hand, guiding the blinded teen to the couch.

"You can practice with me, Ron," Harry suggested happily. "Snape's been helping me and Draco with our battling skills. We just started in using wandless magic."

Ron gaped at the dark-haired teen next to him. "Wandless magic? Merlin, Harry… That's hard…"

"Not for us," Draco piped up. Harry turned towards Draco's voice and smiled at the blond. "Harry and I are progressing quite well."

"What can I do? I'm way behind you guys," Ron protested. "Surely Snape's not going to help me…"

"Well… You still can battle, Ron," Harry said. "You can battle with me, and Draco as well."

Ron shrugged and then he smiled. "Sure. Why not? It's better than just sitting around Snape's house and do nothing."

"Then it's settled," Hermione chirped. She turned to Draco. "Thanks again, Mal-Draco."

"My pleasure," Draco murmured and then smirked. "Excuse me, but I have to leave for a moment."

Harry turned his head to face Draco. "Where are you going?"

"Uncle Severus asked me to start another potion, before he left," Draco told his boyfriend. "That was why he left early this morning. Some ingredients he needed were missing."

"Oh… Alright then, I'll go to the lab later," Harry smiled, "oh, where are Hermione and Ron staying?"

"Your old room," Draco replied. "Can you take your friends there, Harry? I really have to leave or else I won't have enough time to start the potion."

"Sure," Harry grinned, "don't mess it up or Snape will have your head."

Draco sighed. "I'll just go now, shall I?"

Harry snickered. He tilted his head to the side, hearing Draco's footsteps. Once the sounds were out of range, Harry stood up, followed by Ron and Hermione.

"Come on, guys, I'll take you to my room, or your room for the week." Harry began walking and the other two teens followed quickly along.

"So, how's life with Snape and Malfoy, Harry?" Ron asked conversationally. Harry chuckled at Ron's question.

"Fine. Everything's great… Draco's been really wonderful to me." Harry smiled dreamily; the smile wasn't missed by his two friends.

"I'm glad you're happy, Harry," Hermione said softly. She looked around as they went up the staircase. "Professor's Snape's house is really big. Who would've thought?"

"Yeah, I was quite surprised myself during the first week I was here," Harry said, laughing softly. He reached the top of the stairs and turned left. "My room's this way."

Hermione and Ron walked behind Harry, admiring some paintings that were hanging on the wall. Harry reached out, his palm feeling up the door. When his fingers touched the cool metal of the doorknob, he turned it and pushed the door open. Harry then ushered his friends inside and opened his arms wide.

"Tada! My room! It's a bit… dusty, I think. I haven't been in here since… Well, since I started sleeping in Draco's room…" Harry blushed and dropped his hands. "I'm sorry if the room is a mess."

"It's not, Harry; don't worry about it," Hermione said reassuringly. "It's pretty clean to me."

"Bloody hell… This room is huge!" Ron exclaimed suddenly. When Harry laughed, Ron smiled sheepishly. "It is… I think this is… Wow."

"Draco's room is bigger." Harry made his way to the bed and sat down. Harry flicked his eyes at his friends. "I'm really glad your guys are here."

Hermione smiled and padded over to the bed as well. She sat down next to Harry.

"So how did it happen, Harry?"

"How did what happen?"

Ron flopped down onto the bed, his hands behind his head. "How you and Malfoy got together, mate."

"Oh…" Harry felt his cheeks heat up. "Our feelings were mutual… and it just gradually came to the point where Draco asked me if he could call me his boyfriend. Of course I said yes… I mean, geez, the guy of my dreams liked me as well.

"It didn't start out so easily. He helped me with reading Braille. I got to spend more time with Draco because of that. Then, he helped me with my battling… and… One time, I sort of blacked out after concentrating on Draco's aura too hard…"

"Oh! Harry!" Hermione grasped Harry's hand. Harry gave her a pat on her hand.

"I was fine, Hermione, don't worry. Anyways, Draco caught me before I smashed my head on the ground. When I came to, I realized we were both sitting on the ground, with most of my weight on Draco. I thanked him and was highly embarrassed. Draco joked around and told me I should do something for him… He dared me to kiss him…"

"So you did," Ron said from somewhere beside Hermione. Harry nodded and smiled at the memory.

"It was that day Draco confessed he likes me… and I said the same thing to him." Harry sighed happily. "He's my everything, guys. I love him, I really do."

"We could tell," Hermione said; she enveloped Harry's hands in hers. "Like I said before, we're happy for you."

"Thanks." Harry had his head down and closed his eyes. "I would do anything, Hermione, _anything_, to have him happy." Harry stared ahead with empty eyes. "I must get rid of Voldemort, do you understand? We suffered too much already because of that bastard."

"We do…"

"Draco said he wants to be by my side, I don't want him to be."

"You can't stop Draco, Harry," Hermione said almost frantically. "It's his choice to fight alongside with you." She bit her bottom lip, remembering what Draco said to her earlier. "Draco is not someone that can be easily persuaded."

"I'm not going to have the person I love be hurt! Or-or… die…" Harry choked out the last word. "I can't lose him, Hermione… Not when I just found him."

"Don't you think Draco's thinking the same thing?" Hermione asked. "Have you thought about what Draco fears the most?" Ron sat up and looked at his girlfriend with a frown.

"I might not like Malfoy much, but I know that guy loves you," Ron spoke. "Like Mione said, Malfoy's not going to listen to you if you tell him to stay put."

Harry shook his head, jerking his hands away from Hermione's. "It's final. _I'm_ not easily persuaded either. I can be stubborn, you both know that."

Hermione let out a frustrated groan. Ron rolled his eyes. They knew Harry's stubbornness too well.

"There's another reason for me to win this war," Harry whispered. "And the reason is Draco.

"I'm not going to lose him. Never."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**Enjoy? Gosh I hope so…**

Thanks for reading! :D


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